Brief description of the project

Social prescribing is a way of enabling health professionals to refer patients with social, emotional, or practical needs to a range of local, non-medical services. In Leeds, the social prescribing services are currently delivered by three different schemes. We intend to commission a single citywide social prescribing service model in Leeds from 1 September 2019.

The aim of the engagement was to understand people’s experiences of social prescribing services in Leeds and use this feedback to develop a new service that meets people’s needs and preferences.

Who did we speak to?

We received feedback from 603 people. We spoke to people who; identified as current or past service users of social prescribing services, members of the public, members of staff, and other wider stakeholders.

What and how did we ask?

We asked people about their experiences of using social prescribing services in Leeds through:

• A survey
• Drop-ins
• Social media.

What did people tell us?

• 85% of people think the service is beneficial.
• The service needs to be accessible to all people in Leeds.
• The service needs to be widely promoted and offer clear information about what it is and how it can help people.
• The providers need to develop and maintain good relationships with the voluntary and community sector.
• Having local services and being able to self-refer is important to people.

 What did we do?

• We shared the positive feedback with existing providers
• We will make the service accessible by:
  • delivering a service that meets the Accessible Information Standard requirements and offers translators /language line to support people to access the service
  • offering a local service that can be accessed outside normal working hours
  • offering home visits for people who are housebound
• The service will be promoted in various places across Leeds (such as job centres, food banks, hospitals, etc) through a leaflet, and also online.
• The new service will be expected to develop a strong link with the voluntary sector
• The new service will actively encourage self-referral.

If you would like to read more information about this engagement please see the downloads section below.

We have recently published our ‘CCG Volunteer Social Prescribing report’ which outlines the involvement our CCG Volunteers have had in this project. The CCG Volunteers  involved have said that they feel ‘very involved in decision making’ and that ‘patient feedback has been used well to shape the service.’ You can read the full report below.

If you have any questions about this engagement please email us at leedsccg.comms@nhs.net or call on 0113 843 5470.

Downloads:

Other useful information and links: