An Investigation into GPs and Social Prescribing - A Pilot Study

Social prescribing is a method of impacting on the wider determinants of health such as the social, economic and environmental factors, through linking people with health problems to non-medical sources of help and support in the community, usually referral by primary care.
Findings of this study included:

• The GPs generally took a holistic view of health and supported a social model of health. 
• Referral was the preferred term, and this was perceived as a written referral to a social programme, with the responsibility for contacting the patient and giving feedback residing with the organisation.
• The range of organisations referred to was quite limited and GPs favoured those with a statutory service input- health or social work. 
• The GPs felt their level of knowledge of social programmes was limited. 
• The GPs duty of care was paramount in whether a social programme was viewed as trustworthy to benefit the patient and not harm them. 
• GPs tended to prefer that patients could self-refer and generally did not see their gate-keeping role as useful to patients.