Want to work more closely with the NHS? Here’s your opportunity!

Many of you have been asking for meaningful ways to collaborate with the NHS — and this is a powerful one. We’re proud to support the National Academy for Social Prescribing’s (NASP) Social Prescribing Champions Scheme, designed to help healthcare professionals lead the movement for personalised, community-based care.

As a Champion, you can:

  • Raise awareness of social prescribing across NHS teams
  • Advocate for personalised, holistic care
  • Highlight the impact of community support on health and wellbeing

You’ll also get access to the latest resources, research, learning opportunities — plus a digital badge to recognise your leadership.

If you’ve been wanting a clearer route into NHS-aligned work, this is a standout place to start.

Social Prescribing: A Key Pillar of Modern Healthcare

Social prescribing is fast becoming a cornerstone of person-centred care. It recognises that many health challenges stem not from medical issues alone, but from social, emotional, and lifestyle factors. Social prescribing closes this gap by linking people to community and allied-health resources that boost overall wellbeing.

What Is Social Prescribing?

Social prescribing enables healthcare professionals to refer individuals to local, non-medical support—everything from holistic health groups and exercise programmes to nature activities, arts initiatives, peer networks, or practical help like housing or financial advice. The aim is simple: tackle the social determinants of health that drive long-term or complex conditions.

A Brief History

More than a decade ago, forward-thinking GPs noticed many frequent attenders needed connection, support, and stability—not more clinical intervention. Their insight sparked a movement.
With the NHS introducing link workers and embedding social prescribing into personalised care, the approach has grown into a national priority.

Progress So Far

National bodies such as the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) have shaped the momentum—building evidence, supporting innovation, strengthening networks, and developing training. ANP is proud to collaborate with NASP.
A standout development is the Social Prescribing Champions Scheme, empowering professionals across the NHS to embed social prescribing into everyday practice.

Why It Matters

Modern healthcare increasingly accepts that medication and procedures can’t solve everything. Social prescribing recognises the power of connection, meaningful activity, emotional support, and practical stability.
It helps to:

  • Ease pressure on primary care
  • Improve outcomes and engagement
  • Build stronger, healthier communities
  • Support prevention and reduce long-term costs

This is integrated healthcare in action.

What It Means for Patients

For many, social prescribing delivers something new: genuine holistic support. Patients feel seen, motivated, and connected. They access practical tools to manage daily challenges and supportive networks that build confidence and emotional resilience—especially vital for those with long-term or complex needs.

What It Means for ANP Members

For practitioners in naturopathy, nutrition, herbal medicine, and homeopathy, social prescribing mirrors long-held principles of whole-person care. Lifestyle, community, emotional health, and environment—our core values—now have a clear place within mainstream healthcare.
Social prescribing:

  • Validates lifestyle-focused care
  • Encourages multidisciplinary collaboration
  • Creates new pathways for diverse patient support
  • Reinforces a truly holistic view of health

For ANP members, it strengthens bridges between complementary and conventional care and expands opportunities to support community wellbeing in a meaningful, sustainable way.

Social Prescribing: How to get Involved

The National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) is proud to support the Social Prescribing Champions Scheme. The Champions Scheme brings together professionals working within the health system to strengthen awareness and understanding of social prescribing across the UK.

Open to both clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals, the scheme offers opportunities to:

  • Stay up-to-date with the latest research, resources,and best practice guidance
  • Develop new skills and engage in learning opportunities
  • Share success stories and case studies to support others to champion social prescribing

Champions play a key role in encouraging collaboration across primary, secondary, and community care, helping to embed social prescribing more widely across the system.

NASP highly recommends that ANP members sign up to their Champions Scheme. This is a volunteer initiative empowering professional working across the health and care system to spread awareness and build understanding of social prescribing within their workplace, workforce, and locality. Champions receive a monthly newsletter with resources to share, exclusive learning and networking opportunities, and a digital email badge and lanyard to recognise their role.

More information and the application link can be found here.

To get involved, get in touch with your local Social Prescribing Link Worker (SPLW).

Getting in touch with SPLWs locally can take some effort and a bit of research, as there are varying funding and employment set ups so SPLWs may work across a variety of primary care and voluntary sector settings. Here are some steps you can take to make contact (remember, each borough will vary, so you will need to find the one that works in your area):