The Power of Social Prescribing:
Fostering Inclusivity and Community Wellbeing in the UK
By Diliniya Stanislaus Sureshkumar and Karen Wen
In recent years, social prescribing has gained recognition in the United Kingdom (UK) as a promising approach to promoting mental health and wellbeing. Social prescribing, also known as community referral, is a method used by healthcare professionals to connect people to activities in the community to improve their health and wellbeing. This approach effectively addresses health inequalities, supports mental health, and tackles various non-clinical needs.
As co-founders of The Teashop by Mind Axis, a service that embraces social prescribing principles, we connect small groups of adults who wish to achieve mental wellness together to do an enjoyable activity with known mental health benefits. We do this over a cup of tea. In May 2023, we proudly launched in the borough of Redbridge. In eleven total sessions, we have seen spaces to nurture a sense of belonging. In this post, we explore the significance of social prescribing and three insights into how The Teashop has been filling gaps in mental health service provision.
Understanding Social Prescribing
With schemes that date back to the 1990s, social prescribing bridges the gap between the National Health Service (NHS) and community-based organisations to enhance mental wellness and overall health. Link workers, who facilitate social prescribing, play a crucial role in guiding NHS patients to various activities already existing in their own local communities. This approach recognises the importance of social connection for a person's wellbeing beyond traditional medical and therapeutic treatments.
Importantly, social prescribing is not reinventing the wheel. The concepts underpinning social prescribing have been historically embedded within other societies, particularly in collectivist nations where communities have long placed shared support at the heart of their informal care systems.
At the core of social prescribing lies the power of community. Research consistently demonstrates the positive impact of inclusive environments on mental health and social cohesion. However, studies have also highlighted the concerning lack of representation and accessibility in many community-based initiatives. According to the Barrier to Belonging (2019) report by The British Red Cross, individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds reported feeling less included and welcomed in community spaces compared to their white counterparts. This disparity underscores the urgent need to address inclusivity gaps and create spaces that embrace diversity.
1) Championing Inclusivity and Representation
In designing The Teashop in Redbridge, we were determined to incorporate inclusivity into session content and delivery. As co-founders of Asian heritage, we firmly believe that representation lies at the heart of inclusion. When attendees see themselves reflected in the facilitators and other attendees within the session group, they feel encouraged to engage, and this creates a safe environment for active participation. We observed an encouraging representation of Asian/Asian British communities in our sessions, with 75% of attendees coming from Asian background. For context, 47.3% of Redbridge residents have an Asian/Asian British background.
However, inclusion extends beyond ethnic representation. The Teashop has reaffirmed demographic representation in session facilitators successfully engages communities who are less likely to access formal healthcare, but inevitably this first series of The Teashop sessions was limited in scope. Our next steps are to ensure multiple dimensions of inclusion, from gender diversity to language ability, are intentionally reflected in The Teashop.
2) Tackling Inequalities: Addressing Gaps in Outer London
The Teashop in Redbridge also sheds light on the scarcity of therapy-adjacent wellness services in outer London, highlighting the variability of service provision across London as well as the need to expand social prescribing initiatives beyond service-dense boroughs. As pressure on NHS mental health services continues to grow, so does the need for complementary community services that not only provide support but also help people build resilience to bounce back quicker from periods of poor mental health. However, there are many barriers to accessing such services. The Barriers to Belonging report also highlights that people from minority ethnic backgrounds often feel less able to access community activities, often due to a lack of free time and financial barriers. Yet beyond financial constraints, limited resources and inadequate representation of their specific needs contribute to feelings of exclusion and isolation.
It’s not enough to slot new services in areas that need it. We must do so in a way that integrates community assets into existing health and social care systems, as we did with Redbridge CVS’s social prescribing scheme; features like-minded organisations with parallel causes (shout-out to Nemi Teas and Bird & Blend for their teas we provided during some sessions); and engages participation through grassroots outreach.
3) Enhancing Participation in Social Prescribing
As a pilot service in Redbridge, we faced some challenges. While a number of NHS patients referred to us by link workers did attend, some of them signed up for a session but did not attend. As compared to attendees, those non-attendees had comparatively higher rates of moderate symptoms of depression and anxiety. This tells us the individuals who need mental health support the most are still not accessing it. It is clear additional steps need to be implemented to support and motivate people to use social prescribing sessions.
Our observation here is not a new finding, as this problem is seen across many community-based initiatives that target people who are considered ‘hard to reach’. However, we firmly believe people are not hard to reach but simply easy to ignore. To strengthen the pathway along initial point of contact to session attendance to retention we look to implement personalised support for non-attendees to work through hesitation and challenges together, provide more robust follow-up and reminders, and do a deep dive into reasons for not attending.
What’s Next?
Underpinned by social prescribing principles, The Teashop in Redbridge has demonstrated the value of creating spaces where people can connect and enhance their mental wellness. As we continue to work in the Redbridge community and look to expand into more areas, we remain committed to providing safe spaces and prioritising inclusion. One sip at a time, let’s unlock mental wellness, together.
We (Karen - top, and Dili - bottom) are the co-founders of Mind Axis and project leads of The Teashop.
Flyers were posted on noticeboards in local grocery stores in Redbridge to reach community members.