Why is evaluating social prescribing important for different stakeholders?
Evaluating social prescribing is important for a number of reasons, to a number of people. This section gives some examples of key stakeholder groups and why it matters to them. This is not an exhaustive list, but shows some reasons.
This is followed by a more detailed look at six key examples of how different services have evaluated for different reasons, each of which include a London case study showing how this has happened in practice.
| Stakeholder groups | Why it is important for them |
|---|---|
| Social prescribing workforce | Evidence their work Identify personal development goals and track progress Understand how they impact patients |
| Social prescribing service | Identify improvements, track progress against these Celebrate success and boost workforce morale, retention and recruitment Make the case for funding or specific project bids Demonstrate value to the healthcare system |
| PCN managers and clinical directors | Understand how social prescribing is supporting targets Able to direct funds and energy towards areas of need/improvements Can make informed decisions about staffing and funding |
| Clinicians and GPs | Understand the impact on patients Inform referral decisions Build trust and relationship with SP services |
| Commissioners including ICBs | Understand needs of local populations, especially non-clinical Understand level of investment needed in service and for what purpose More confident in commissioning decisions in primary care and community services including VCSE |
| Training hubs other bodies who support social prescribing | Understand the challenges and needs of social prescribing services Make informed decisions around training, management and support for the workforce |
| Regional and national teams in the NHS or Government | Able to influence policy around social prescribing Can advocate on behalf of services and support funding streams |
Examples of how different stakeholders have evaluated for specific reasons:
Example: In Barnet, the Age UK social prescribing service create reports for public health, PCNs, ICB and GPs, this has helped them continue to function as a large SP provider, with around two Social Prescribing Link Workers per PCN. See a detailed case study for this project here.
Example: In Camden, a pilot was run employing a Social Prescribing Link Worker focusing on ethnic minority populations. They recorded the demand for the new service, this helped build the case to make the social prescriber a permanent member of staff. See the impact summary of this project here.
Example: In Southwark, the social prescribing managers create newsletters which highlight pieces of feedback, case studies and general news and updates around the social prescribing service. This is shared with a range of stakeholders across boroughs, helping raise awareness of the service and subsequent engagement.
Example: In Lambeth, the social prescribing manager for the Age UK service developed a process where service users, social prescribers and others come together at an event to share feedback, this allows areas of improvement to be identified. Detail around the project to develop this can be found here.
Example: In Ealing, they used data around the needs for onward referral in Joy to support commissioning of a housing association which had funding removed. This data provided the evidence needed for demand for the service. See a detailed case study for this project here.
Example: In North East London (NEL), they have developed a template for EMIS/SystemOne, that can also be embedded in the case management system, this helps create consistency around the patient data collected allowing better patient management. The data is also flowing into a dashboard, allowing all professionals across NEL to view figures and trends around social prescribing. See a detailed case study for this project here.
