Guernsey’s Health Improvement Commission has received £270,000 funding to continue delivering the Bailiwick Social Prescribing (BSP) Scheme.
Following a successful evaluation of the pilot scheme the funding from the Committee for Health & Social Care means that BSP can now be offered sustainably alongside routine healthcare with a strong focus on prevention and early intervention.
BSP is a social prescribing scheme that links people to activities, groups, and services in the community to meet the practical, social and emotional needs that affect their health and wellbeing. It does this through Link Workers who provide people with personalised support to access social and community groups, voluntary organisations, and statutory services. This includes a range of options from physical activity and art to singing and green volunteering, as well as support to find help with issues such as housing, financial worries and bereavement.
The scheme was developed as a pilot over the last 4 years with funding from the Guernsey Community Foundation, Public Health Services, the Health Improvement Commission and more recently the Social Investment Fund.
Data analysed from the project’s launch to December 2023, confirmed the scheme’s feasibility and positive impact. To date over 1000 people have been referred to BSP and 96% of local GPs have referred patients to the scheme. The pilot showed that 61% of people who engaged with BSP, from two Primary Care groups where attendance data were available, had fewer GP appointments (4.1 fewer appointments on average) in the 12 months after engaging with BSP compared to the 12 months before. The scheme was also strongly endorsed by GPs, Public Health Services and the community organisations that BSP refers to.
The new funding, from the Committee for Health & Social Care, will cover the scheme’s staffing and operational costs and allow for the recruitment of a further Link Worker and a part-time administrator to respond to strong demand for the scheme. Recruitment for these positions is now live.
Dr Simon Sebire (pictured), Health Improvement Commission CEO said: “We are delighted that Bailiwick Social Prescribing now has secure funding and can continue to provide impactful support to people to improve their health and well-being. Social prescribing recognises the importance of the social causes of our health and the valuable contribution that non-medical community-based activities and support can make to improving personal, social and community well-being, and the challenges the Bailiwick faces in terms of an ageing population and increasing demand on health services.
“I’d like to thank the BSP team for their hard work, the Committee for Health & Social Care and Public Health Services for supporting the scheme, and the Community Foundation, Social Investment Fund and Public Health for backing the pilot.”
Jim Roberts, Director and Chief Executive of the Community Foundation said: “It’s fantastic that the future of Bailiwick Social Prescribing has been assured thanks to the States’ decision to assume responsibility for funding. Back in 2020, the Foundation recognised that it was unlikely that the States would pay for a new and untested social prescribing scheme, and so we decided to finance a multi-year pilot designed to answer questions about social prescribing’s effectiveness.
“The pilot would have been impossible without the Health Improvement Commission, and without Public Health lending their support and expertise along the way. This is an excellent example of the charitable sector and the public sector working together.”
Dr Louise Brook, St Sampsons Medical Centre said: “I am delighted to hear this news. BSP is a fantastic scheme that provides islanders with support for a huge range of issues and works alongside medicines to improve both physical and mental wellbeing.”
Deputy Marc Leadbeater, Vice-President of the Committee for Health & Social Care said: “The Committee for Health & Social Care is pleased to be able to continue to support the Bailiwick Social Prescribing scheme following what has been a successful pilot. This partnership working with the charity sector is helping transform how we manage health and wellbeing from a focus on ill health to a wider consideration of what constitutes better health for islanders.
“I would like to express my appreciation to the team at Bailiwick Social Prescribing, the Health Improvement Commission, the Guernsey Community Foundation and the Social Investment Fund for their invaluable contribution in establishing this programme. I am confident that this scheme will continue to enhance the health and wellbeing of islanders for years to come.
“This is a positive example of partnership working and is the latest of more than 30 formally commissioned services that exist between government and the charity sector. Commissioning charities to deliver services is an effective way for government to support community wellbeing.”
