Global Social Prescribing Alliance** (GSPA)**
The Global Social Prescribing Alliance empowers communities worldwide to adopt social prescribing, connecting people to community-based support that improves health, wellbeing, and social inclusion.
Our Global Social Prescribing Playbook provides practical guidance to help communities design, implement, and scale social prescribing programmes effectively.
Social Prescribing in Practice – UK Data
**Scale of **social prescribing in England:
- 3,300 Social Prescribing Link Workers (FTE) in primary care
- 5.5 million GP referrals since 2019
- Over 1 million referrals in 2023 alone
Effectiveness:
- Improves confidence in managing long-term conditions
- Increases support from local services
- Enhances mental health understanding
- Improves overall patient experience
- Nature-based programmes reduce anxiety and depression and are cost-effective
Reducing pressure on health services:
- 42% reduction in GP appointments in Tameside & Glossop after 12 months
- Up to 23% fewer A&E attendances in Kent
- 25% fall in GP demand in Sussex vs. 78% rise among newly supported patients
- Estimated savings: £4 for every £1 spent on link worker salaries
Who is accessing social prescribing?
- Increasing uptake in deprived communities: 42% of referrals in 2023
- 23% of referrals from ethnic minority groups
- 60% of referrals are women
Supporting return to work:
- Reduced sick notes, chronic pain, anxiety, and depression among people supported by link workers
Evidence Gaps & Ongoing Research
- Need for more robust outcome and service use data
- Evaluations of models for children and young people’s mental health
- Trials across Europe and globally to refine approaches
- Community-led implementation and integration within neighbourhood health systems
GSPA – Supporting Global Communities
The Global Social Prescribing Alliance helps communities, governments, and organisations worldwide adopt social prescribing by providing:
-
**The Global Social Prescribing **Playbook – step-by-step guidance
-
Training & capacity-building for link workers and community leaders
-
**Global evidence-sharing networks **
-
Technical support for data, evaluation, and scaling
-
Community-led approaches that reflect local context and culture
Our mission: to ensure every community has the knowledge, tools, and support to integrate social prescribing as part of a holistic, people-centred approach to health and wellbeing.