How social prescribing can impact long-term conditions in Salford
As a city we are living longer and with that comes the question of quality of life, are we living well for longer? We are now living with more complex illness for longer and this has a huge impact of years spent in good health. In Salford, data from 2018/20 shows at age 65 men in Salford had an average life expectancy of 82.1 years but a healthy life expectancy of 72.7 years, meaning an average of 9.4 years not in good health. For women in Salford at age 65, life expectancy was 84.2 years but healthy life expectancy was 72.0, an average of 12.2 years not in good health. (1).
Our health is one of our most important assets and taking control of our health can often feel overwhelming and hard to navigate. In Salford we want all of our years to be lived in good health and to thrive not just survive. Having awareness of your condition and options available to explore to help manage your condition and mood can make all the difference.
This is where Wellbeing Matters Social prescribing can help complement clinical support in Salford, to empower and enable individuals to focus on what matters to them, manage their health and engage with healthy behaviours.
Working with our Primary care colleagues to promote holistic health and wellbeing, will refer patients in Salford into social prescribing to gain further support in their local community for their health and wellbeing. Building trust in local options with our GP practices has been key to our success to date. Highlighting the wealth of support on offer can encourage referrals through primary care. The programme feeds back through the GP system to offer feedback on referral outcomes.
At Wellbeing Matters we are passionate about sharing our vibrant community and VCSE offers that deliver high-quality activities and services, there is a wealth of activities, groups and services that could be just right for you.
An individual can benefit from social prescribing by exploring a menu of options tailored to them by their Community Connector, which can bring hope into the management of many conditions. By focusing on a holistic ‘whole person’ approach, connections can help support someone’s physical, mental and social wellbeing. Focusing on the person, not the patient can help someone to open up to offers in their local community that can help to improve their wellbeing. The person is in full control and may just wish to take away the information to explore, there is no pressure to take part in any of the suggestions unless you wish to.
Our Community Connectors are trained through the NHS E-learning for health programme (2) and can share information and connections into local, accessible support that can be helpful to manage their condition. They can:
- Support to find solutions, make plans and break down health and care goals into manageable steps
- Promote knowledge and understanding about the condition
- Increase awareness of local support attached to the condition
- Increase movement and physical activity to manage the condition and prevent falls and frailty
- Support lifestyle changes (weight loss, physical activity, alcohol reduction) that can impact their condition
- Share options to focus on mental health, self-care and resilience
- Promote awareness of practical support which will impact everyday living
- Attend groups and services with individuals to break down barriers to access
By offering a community-level support system for day-to-day life, social prescribing can support the NHS by preventing illness and the deterioration of conditions in many cases.
Social prescribing can engage with an individual’s priorities to focus on the real support needs to have a lasting impact. The encouragement and hand-holding of a community connector can build agency in an individual to make their own choices in their care management. Working on a local footprint can break down barriers to engagement, meaning activities and support are accessible and inclusive, often just down the road from you. Individuals accessing Wellbeing Matters often connect to multiple offers tailored to them, usually a practical offer and a lifestyle or social activity Some examples include:
Peer support and social connection - Connecting to peer support groups can reduce isolation, connecting socially with others in similar situations and learn more about self-management of a condition. Being connected to others is important for our mental and physical wellbeing and can be a protective factor against anxiety and depression. An example of a local peer support group is the Fibromyalgia support group at the Energise Centre or more general peer support such as Talk About It Mate a men’s peer support session across the city.
Lifestyle changes - Making lifestyle changes such as being a healthy weight, reducing alcohol intake and stopping smoking can have a positive impact on many health conditions connecting to support offers such as the Health Improvement Team offering a number of different activities such as cycling, walking and health checks, Empower you who support those with a disability into physical activity and Achieve drug and alcohol services can help reduce alcohol intake. Nutritional support can be offered by Health Improvement and 1.2.1 Nutritional support is available at the Angel Centre Salford.
Mental health support - Accessing mental health support can instil resilience in difficult times with a health condition with local options such as Six Degrees talking therapy, MIND mindfulness session or RAW therapy (reading and writing therapy through journaling) could support someone to process their condition and deal with the mental health aspects of how the condition may affect them. Reading well books on prescription at Salford’s libraries through SCL can offer more awareness of health conditions and options to manage more through self-care.
Practical support options- Practical support is often overlooked with long-term conditions, having extra help to improve everyday life such as local offers such as Being there who support those with life-limiting conditions or Helping hands who can help with housing adaptations and small jobs around the home or Citizen’s advice bureau, can check your benefits and connect to financial support if needed. Employment support can be important for those who’s condition impacts their condition and connecting to offers such as the IPS from the growth company support can work with employers to allow individuals to stay in employment or look for more appropriate job roles.
Finding Purpose (creative, green and learning initiatives)– Creativity is fundamental for our health and wellbeing and can support us to live longer, Being involved in creative activities such as drawing, painting or sculpting at START, or Gardening at Garden needs Broughton or the RHS. Connecting with nature can reduce stress, anxiety depression and fatigue, boost our immune system and encourage us to be more physically active (3). It can even act as a distraction to effects of long-term conditions. Volunteering can support individuals in giving back and Salford’s Volunteer Centre can explore options as supporting others can help boost mood and engaging in further learning can offer purpose and open doors to activities and hobbies a person may be interested in. Through University of the Third Age (U3A) or Corinth Training this can be achieved.
All options shared through social prescribing are suggestions there is no pressure to attend, the offers are all quality assured through our brilliant Wellbeing Matters Development Worker Team who ensure groups and activities are welcoming, safe and have a high-quality offer for Salford residents. 
Please don’t just take our word for it, Public health recognises that placing communities at the heart of health can have a huge impact to create connected, resilient and healthier communities.
The department of health and social care share in their Major condition’s strategy, that keeping people well through lifestyle and behaviour changes can encourage people to live long and active lives.
Accessing one or more supported self-management interventions significantly increases the likelihood that people will adopt behaviours and approaches that positively contribute to their health and wellbeing. There is evidence that supported self-management has a positive impact on the health and care system. An independent evaluation found that people who had the highest knowledge, skills and confidence had 19% fewer GP appointments and 38% fewer A&E attendances.
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