Going Local: Social Prescribing - Connecting Communities

Please be aware that sometimes due to demand we may not be able to accept your referral straight away. If this is the case for people in your area please try again in 2-3 weeks.

Who is this service for?

Going Local is a Social Prescribing service for people who are over 18 and are registered at a GP surgery in Adur or Worthing.

What is Social Prescribing

Social Prescribing aims to improve health and well-being beyond traditional medical care. The social prescriber will use their detailed local knowledge to connect you to local community services, activities or groups to support your social, emotional, and practical needs.

During individual sessions, you will be able to talk about any worries that might be affecting your health and wellbeing, and to focus on what matters to you through shared decision-making and support planning.

What can a Social Prescriber help with?

Common things a Social Prescriber can help with include:

• Living with long term physical health conditions
• Managing low level anxiety, depression or emotional wellbeing
• Feeling lonely or isolated
• Looking for volunteering opportunities or how to get support to find employment
• Help with accessing the internet, or digital and technology skills

Sometimes Social Prescribing isn’t the most appropriate place to get support.

• If you have been served an eviction notice or are at risk of homelessness please contact the Adur and Worthing housing team as soon as possible:
• If you might be homeless within the next two weeks, please visit Worthing Town Hall. Our address and opening times can be found here: Contact us
• If there is a risk of you losing your home but it is further than two weeks away, please complete our online form: Get help if you're at risk of losing your home
• If your main worry is about benefits, debt, money or you need help with application forms, please contact a specialist organisation first, such as:
• Citizen's Advice
• Money Helper

How does Social Prescribing work?

Once we've received your referral one of our social prescribers will contact you to arrange a session to talk through any of your concerns or issues. We are there to listen. Our highly trained social prescribers will then be able to help you get the right advice and to navigate local support services that could benefit you.

How can I get help from a Social Prescriber?

To refer yourself to Going Local Social Prescribing, please complete the form below. In areas where the service is already at maximum capacity you will be notified to come back in two to three weeks time.

Get support

You can also:

• Speak to your GP and ask for a Social Prescribing referral
• Ask a friend, family member or other professional working with you to complete the referral form on your behalf.

We are currently working with the following GP surgeries:

Adur GP surgeries:

• The Manor Practice, Southwick
• Shoreham Health Centre, Shoreham-by-Sea
• Downsway Surgery, Shoreham-by-Sea
• Northbourne Medical Centre, Shoreham-by-Sea
• Ball Tree Surgery, Sompting
• Ball Tree Surgery (Kingfisher Branch), Lancing
• The Orchard Surgery, Lancing
• New Pond Row Surgery, Lancing

Worthing GP surgeries:

• Victoria Road Surgery
• Worthing Medical Group
• Lime Tree Surgery (Durrington And Findon)
• St Lawrence Surgery
• Selden Medical Centre
• The Strand Medical Centre
• The Barn Surgery
• Cornerways Surgery
• Broadwater Medical Centre

If you would like to find out more about Going Local and our approach to social prescribing, please contact the team:

• communityreferrals@adur-worthing.gov.uk

“Going Local has given me a new lease of life - I felt isolated and didn't know where to turn. Now that my worries are being dealt with, I feel more confident and ready to move forward with my life.”

Video by The King's Fund: How Social Prescribing can help you
Debs Taylor: The impact of social prescribing on people and communities

For more information please read:

• Going Local - Our End of Year Report for 2022-23 (461KB)
• The National Academy for Social Prescribing's academic collaborative is compiling rapid evidence reviews and short briefings on priority themes. Those published so far include summaries of what the evidence tells us about the impact of social prescribing on measuring economic impact and health outcomes.
  See: Evidence for Social Prescribing - on the National Academy for Social Prescribing website
• Tackling Loneliness Report March 2023: The Government has published this year's annual report assessing the current measures on tackling loneliness. The report references social prescribing  and the role it can play in tackling isolation and supporting people to connect to their communities.
  See: Tackling Loneliness annual report March 2023: the fourth year - on the GOV.UK website

And please also see:

• What is social prescribing? - on the King's Fund website
• Resources for social prescribing link workers - on the National Academy for Social Prescribing website

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