The National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) has proposed a £1 billion ‘Social Prescribing Fund’ to invest £100 million annually over the next decade in community projects aimed at improving health and wellbeing.
The fund would support evidence-based initiatives such as mental health programs, music therapy for dementia patients, and exercise classes to prevent chronic illnesses. By addressing challenges like loneliness and health inequalities, it seeks to ease NHS pressures and promote preventative care.
NASP’s plan highlights the growing value of social prescribing—connecting individuals with community resources to improve health outcomes. The initiative has garnered support from organisations including Movember, with leaders praising its potential to improve access to care and strengthen community resilience.
“There is nothing novel about either social investment or social prescribing. The innovative leap of the Social Prescribing Fund is to develop a new, England-wide mechanism for social investment in a way that also takes advantage of newly developed social prescribing systems to improve health and wellbeing outcomes, reduce inequalities, strengthen civic society, support economic growth, and moderate avoidable demand on the NHS.”
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Upcoming Conference: A Guide to Social Prescribing For those interested in learning more about the practical implementation and benefits of social prescribing, the upcoming conference A Guide to Social Prescribing provides an opportunity. This conference will bring together experts and practitioners to share insights, strategies, and best practices.
Date: Wednesday 26th February 2025
Location: Virtual Conference
This conference will focus on increasing the scale and impact of social prescribing as outlined in the NHS long term plan. We will take a practical case study based approach to assessing, monitoring and improving the health outcomes of people who typically experience health inequalities.
