NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board’s Chair Professor Patrick Vernon OBE was invited to be a keynote speaker at an event aimed at celebrating social prescribing staff.
At the sixth Annual Link Worker Day Conference & Awards 2024, Patrick led a session focusing on how to create pathways to economic inclusion through a diverse Social Prescribing workforce.
Social prescribing link workers connect people to community-based support, including activities and services that meet practical, social, and emotional needs that affect their health and wellbeing. This includes connecting patients to support for services such as housing, finance and welfare advice. Social prescribing works particularly well for people with low level mental health needs, who feel lonely or isolated, with long term conditions and complex social needs. Social prescribing link workers work collaboratively across the health and care system, targeting populations with greatest need and risk of health inequalities. They collaborate with partners to identify gaps in provision and support community offers to be accessible and sustainable.
The conference, which took place to coincide with National Link Workers Day on 24 May, covered topics including; patient safety, multi-sectoral and multi-agency collaboration, evidence-based practice, supervision and wellbeing, link worker models in social prescribing, career planning and leadership development.
The theme of the event was ‘unleashing good health and prosperity’, and the conference provided an opportunity for attendees to learn, connect with professionals in the field, and explore the latest insights on promoting wellbeing and prosperity.