[ Resource] National framework for social prescribing

Social prescribing is an umbrella term that describes a person-centred approach to connecting people to local community assets. Community assets include community groups, interventions and services which could be delivered online or in person, as well as buildings, land or even a person within a community.

Social prescribing is a way of connecting people, whatever their age or background, with their community to better manage their health and wellbeing. It can help empower individuals to recognise their own needs, strengths, and personal assets and to connect with their own communities for support with their health and wellbeing.

To help bring social prescribing to life, quotes from case studies gathered by Public Health Wales are included throughout this document..

About this document

This document sets out the Welsh Government’s programme for government commitment for an NFfSP. It has been developed following a period of engagement with over a 1,000 stakeholders and responds to our consultation exercise which explored a number of key themes.

It is structured into 5 sections.

Section 1: introduction and background

This section provides a definition of social prescribing in Wales, explores the potential benefits of social prescribing and summarises the available evidence base.

Section 2: context 

This section provides the legislative and strategic context for the NFfSP in Wales, provides information on the actions people can take to support their health and wellbeing and sets social prescribing within the spectrum of support needed to enable people to take action. 

Section 3: development of social prescribing in Wales

This section describes how social prescribing has grown across Wales in recent years and highlights key pieces of research. It also sets out the current landscape in Wales and how the NFfSP was developed.

Section 4: the model of social prescribing in Wales

This section provides clarity around the model of social prescribing in Wales.

Section 5: National Framework of Social Prescribing (NFfSP)

This section sets out the core objectives of the NFfSP and its cross-cutting themes, the guidance and tools supporting the framework and sets out how we will drive forward the future development and implementation of the NFfSP.