What is Social Prescribing?

Social prescribing is an opportunity to talk through any worries that might be affecting your health and wellbeing in a safe environment. The service supports you to make positive changes in your life by linking you up with groups, activities and public services that can help.

We meet for hour-long appointments (and up to 6 sessions) to help you to focus on what matters most through shared decision making and support planning. We offer the Going Local service flexibility and tailored to individual needs. We can meet at your GP surgery, at a community venue, by going for a walk together and also at home if you have a health condition that means it's not possible to get out.

The support we refer you to could include; finding volunteering opportunities, improving emotional wellbeing including befriending schemes, peer support or arts and leisure activities, social aspects of healthy living, which includes non-medical support to manage a long term, health condition, and practical support at home to keep safe.

How to get support

If you feel this service might be beneficial for you, you can self-refer using this online form.

If you are unsure and would like to discuss this with a member of our practice, you can contact and ask us for a referral to be made to the social prescribers for you.

Cost of Living Support

If you are struggling with the cost of living and feel like you need support, there is help available including payments, benefits and specifically designed schemes. please visit the Adur & Worthing Councils website for more information.

Further Information

For more information on how social prescribing works and how it could help you visit the Going Local website.

Going Local: 01903 22122

Going Local Service Criteria

A Social Prescriber might help a person with signposting and referring onto:

  • Accessing ways of improving emotional wellbeing, this might include befriending schemes, peer support, or arts and leisure activities.
  • Social aspects of healthy living which include diet and exercise, as well as non-medical support to manage a long term health condition.
  • Finding employment, volunteering opportunities, or learning a new skill.
  • Tackling money, housing, or benefit issues.
  • Practical support at home and keeping safe.
  • Becoming digitally included.

Who we work with:

  • Ages 18+
  • Those who have consented to the referral.
  • People who are experiencing loneliness, low level mental health needs or have difficulties managing health conditions.
  • People who would like to be supported to connect with local organisations and services'.

We are not able to work with people who are:

  • People under the age of 18.
  • People in Emotional/Mental Health distress or in Mental Health Crisis. We can however explore other issues that could be exacerbating a Mental Health condition - in these circumstances they would require existing Mental Health support to be in place.
  • Known to be aggressive or violent.
  • Unable to make their own decisions. If someone has a carer who is their point of contact, we can support them via their carer. In these cases can the referral be made in the name of the carer.
  • In need of Safeguarding Intervention - please contact Adult Social Care (01243) 642121 in this circumstance.
  • In active addiction without specialist support in place.
  • We cannot hold people on our caseloads where they are not ready to engage with another service/other services.
  • Where we are not the suitable service for someone who is referred, we will instead inform the referrer of the appropriate place to connect the person too. This includes the Young Person Social Prescribing project for people aged 8 - 17.

As Social Prescribers we:

  • Empower people to make changes themselves.
  • Offer tailored support for a wide range of issues that affect a person's health and wellbeing.
  • Respect the person's choice and decisions - based on what matters to them rather than referral reasons.
  • Help someone to build a network of support.
  • Provide short term interventions.

What we are not:

  • We are not support workers, we provide a short term intervention to help someone build a network of support - and then we finish our engagement.
  • A Social Prescriber is not a Social Worker.
  • We are not Medical Professionals or Counsellors.
  • We do not provide financial, benefits or debt advice but can refer to the correct services for this support.
  • We are not an Advocacy service.
  • We are not an emergency service.
  • We are not a Form filling service.
  • We do not case manage for other services.