Every Wednesday morning, a team of local support and wellbeing groups gather at Alton Assembly Rooms for ‘Health on the High Street’ - an initiative run by Alton’s social prescribing team from the Alton Primary Care Network.
If you’re unfamiliar with social prescribing, it’s a way to connect people to a range of non-clinical services in their community to improve health and wellbeing. It can help to address the underlying cause of patients’ health issues, as opposed to simply treating the symptoms.
So instead of (or, in some cases, as well as) prescribing medication, doctors can refer a patient to a social prescribing link worker, someone who will work with the individual to understand what’s really going on and connect them with the right local support. This allows the link worker to explore the wider issues affecting a person’s wellbeing, from isolation and addiction to housing and money worries.
This might mean referring an individual to a fitness class to help with recovery following an injury, or nature-based activities to improve mental wellbeing, or signposting to debt advice to ease financial stress. And, of course, some people need several types of support all at once, for instance, someone managing multiple long-term health problems, who lives alone, isn’t online, and has no family nearby to help.
The goal is simple - address the root causes of poor health, not just the symptoms.
And it’s not just GPs who can refer to social prescribers. Referrals can also come from pharmacies, job centres, housing associations, the fire service and even self-referrals are welcome.
The impact is growing. The National Academy for Social Prescribing estimates that over one million people were referred to social prescribing services by their GP in 2023. This surpassed the previous government’s target of 900,000. Research by the Academy also suggests that social prescribing reduces unnecessary GP appointments, A&E visits, and hospital admissions, saving the NHS money while improving people’s lives.
Locally, the Alton social prescribing team is run by the A31 Primary Care Network, which covers the two Alton surgeries and Boundaries Surgery in Four Marks. Senior partners from these practices work with the social prescribers to identify preventative therapies to improve the health of the community. There are similar networks at the Grange and Swan surgeries in Petersfield too.
To build on this work, Health on the High Street runs every Wednesday as a drop-in community event, offering direct access to local organisations and services. It’s a great example of how a local initiative helps the NHS focus on prevention and providing support closer to home.
I visited Health on the High Street last week and was amazed at the range of support available. I had a good chat with FedCap, who help local people get back into work, and caught up with Chrissy Humphrey, one of Alton’s brilliant social prescribers. Each week brings different groups and services. It’s well worth stopping by to see how they can help.
For more information, visit Health on the High Street - A31 Primary Care Network
