New UCLan Social Prescribing Unit will focus on projects to improve health and well-being and reduce health inequalities within Lancashire and South Cumbria
Researchers from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) are calling for community organisations to work with a newly established unit focused on improving health and well-being through non-clinical services.
The UCLan Social Prescribing Unit brings together around 70 academics from across the University and from a wide range of disciplines, with partners form the health, social care, private and voluntary sectors, who are passionate about working with community organisations to improve health and well-being and using their research and teaching experiences to benefit them.
Launched this week, the new Unit will link with external partners interested in developing their activities around social prescribing, an approach that allows professionals to refer people to a range of non-clinical services to support their health and well-being, to work with its academics to develop and evaluate services.
The University will bring its research and teaching experiences to help understand and evaluate what works and provide additional staffing and workforce development through student placements and continuous professional development (CPD) provision.
"Our aim is for the UCLan Social Prescribing Unit to become a central point for staff and colleagues across health, social care and the community and voluntary sectors to focus on all things within the social prescribing landscape. "
— Samantha Pywell, lecturer in occupational therapy and UCLan Social Prescribing Unit co-ordinator.
Social prescribing can be offered to a wide range of people, particularly those who need mental health support, feel lonely or isolated or who have complex social needs. Examples include arts activities, befriending services, cookery and healthy eating workshops and sports.
Samantha Pywell, lecturer in occupational therapy and UCLan Social Prescribing Unit co-ordinator who has also worked as a community occupational therapist in the NHS, said: “Social prescribing allows for a personalised, more holistic approach to improving people’s health and well-being.
“We are placing a particular focus on and making a difference to the challenges of health inequalities within Lancashire and South Cumbria. Our aim is for the UCLan Social Prescribing Unit to become a central point for staff and colleagues across health, social care and the community and voluntary sectors to focus on all things within the social prescribing landscape.
“We know a wide-range of services within the community already use social prescribing effectively and we want to work with these partners to build on this success. This may be through working on joint research projects or evaluating the effectiveness of existing projects. We’re also keen to develop teaching and student work placement opportunities that focus on social prescribing.”
"We know a wide-range of services within the community already use social prescribing effectively and we want to work with these partners to build on this success. "
— Samantha Pywell, lecturer in occupational therapy and UCLan Social Prescribing Unit co-ordinator.
The Director of Public Health for Lancashire, Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, said: "Social prescribing improves outcomes for people by supporting them to take greater control of their own health. It is particularly useful for people to maintain and improve their sense of wellbeing.
"We've yet to see the full impact of the last two years on people's mental health, but young people are likely going to be significantly impacted due to the impact Covid-19 has had on their lives and education.
"This is why I welcome UCLan’s leadership in setting up this Social Prescribing Unit and our team looks forward to working with this unit as we recover from the pandemic."
"Social prescribing improves outcomes for people by supporting them to take greater control of their own health ... This is why I welcome UCLan’s leadership in setting up this Social Prescribing Unit and our team looks forward to working with this unit as we recover from the pandemic."
— The Director of Public Health for Lancashire, Dr Sakthi Karunanithi.
Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Director of the University College London Institute of Health Equity, Past President of the World Medical Association, and author of the influential Marmot Review in 2010, welcomed the launch of the new unit, seeing it as having a major role to play in the reduction of health inequality.
Speaking at the UCLan Social Prescribing Unit launch, he said: “Social prescribing is looking at the patient in broader perspective, working with partners and looking at the wider impact of health care institutes.”
"Social prescribing is looking at the patient in broader perspective, working with partners and looking at the wider impact of health care institutes."
— Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Director of the University College London Institute of Health Equity and Past President of the World Medical Association.
UCLan Pro Vice-Chancellor for research and enterprise, Professor StJohn Crean, added: “The Social Prescribing Unit is a natural development for the University. It has aligned its own strategies toward the national developments around levelling up and empowering communities, especially during recovery periods.”
Organisations interested in working with the UCLan Social Prescribing Unit, which is based within the University’s Centre for Citizenship and Community, can contact the team via email on socialprescribing@uclan.ac.uk
