Social prescribing: awareness levels in Buckinghamshire
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Healthwatch Buckinghamshire wanted to find out about awareness of social prescribing across Bucks. They developed a survey which was online from 12 May to 4 July 2022. They also collected responses directly from the public in four libraries (Chesham, Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Buckingham) between 6 and10 June. They also did a short piece of desktop work to look at what local GP surgeries said about social prescribing on their websites. They heard from 259 people.
Most of the people who completed the survey had not heard of social prescribing. When given a high-level explanation of the service, most thought it was a good idea. However, overall, many remained cautious because of a lack of knowledge.
Over a quarter of the 259 people who completed the survey had heard of social prescribing. Only 8% knew how to access the service.
Over two in five respondents who said they would be happy to use the service in future also said they might not because "I don't feel I know enough about what social prescribers do".
More women than men had heard of social prescribing. Those over 56 years of age said they would be happy to use the services of a social prescriber in future less often than those under 56.
People from a White British ethnic background said they would go to their doctor, instead of a social prescriber, more often than those from other ethnic backgrounds.
When Healthwatch looked at the local GP surgery websites, many did not provide much if any information about social prescribing. Only 34% of the 50 GP websites looked at mentioned the service. Only 26% of these mentioned how to access a social prescriber.
The report contains six recommendations on ways in which GPs can better promote social prescribing.