Arts and Culture: Social Prescribing Myth Buster

Introduction

What is arts and cultural social prescribing?

Humans have long used arts as a way to make sense of the world, build connections and define themselves whilst benefiting from the arts’ therapeutic effects.

Many of us recognise that the arts and culture can make us feel better.

Social prescribing, in its simplest form, is a way to build on these ideas, through the active recommendation of arts and culture on prescription. But many people are not sure what social prescribing means, how it can benefit them, or how they might get involved in activities. Arts and culture on prescription, through NHS referral or self-referral can benefit everyone, from children to adults, older generations and families alike.

This simple guide aims to debunk some myths associated with social prescribing by providing straight-forward information for the individuals or arts cultural organisations looking to deliver social prescribing activities.

Myth 1: Social prescribing is too complicated to consider.

At first glance social prescribing can seem like a complex system, especially if you or your organisation has not previously worked with health or social care partners. In reality, the approach is grounded in something familiar: supporting people to connect with activities, places and programmes that can help them feel better in everyday life. Across the UK, social prescribing is being used to help people of all ages improve their wellbeing, reduce isolation and build confidence in their day to day lives.

Social prescribing might be recommended for an individual:

• By healthcare staff working in a primary care setting, for example a GP or practice nurse;
• By adult social care professionals working for a local authority;
• Through a VCSE organisation

Once referred, most patients then work with a local link worker to identify schemes together that might help them improve mental health, wellbeing or reduce isolation. These might include anything from support with housing or finances, sports and cooking, but increasingly, arts and cultural activities.

For arts and cultural organisations, the most meaningful way to get involved is by building relationships at a local level. Introducing your organisation to local link workers, attending neighbourhood or VCSE network meetings and inviting link workers to sessions helps them understand what you offer and who might benefit. This builds confidence on both sides and supports appropriate referrals.

In London, there is at least one social prescribing service in every borough. While local models differ, all rely on local knowledge and trust. Find the specific service in your borough by checking with your local council, speaking to your GP practice, or connecting through networks such as the Social Prescribing Network.

Myth 2: Funding for arts and culture on prescription is hard to access.

Funding can feel difficult to navigate because it often spans across different sectors, such as culture, health or community development. However, many arts and cultural programmes successfully access funding, often by starting small, making local connections and gathering meaningful evidence of the difference their work makes.

Individuals or organisations can usually apply to their local authority for funding to help pilot or run social prescribing projects. Some have also been successful securing support from local healthcare partners, including Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). Independent trusts and foundations, and National Lottery distributors Arts Council England, The National Lottery Community Fund, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund may all also be able to support certain delivery or partnership activities in the social prescribing space. Eligibility varies, so it is worth checking guidance carefully.

The National Academy of Social Prescribing suggests that what matters most when it comes to obtaining funding is being explicit about your offer. Funders respond well to organisations that can clearly describe:

• Who they want to reach
• What they plan to deliver
• What difference they expect to make
• How that difference will be understood or evaluated

It can help to start with a small grant or pilot, so you can learn what works, gather feedback and attendance data and develop a story to show why the work matters. Working with partners can also strengthen applications. It is helpful to consider the long-term sustainability of your work from the outset, as individuals benefit from ongoing engagement with activities rather than short-term, one-off projects.

A few funding resources:

• NASP: Funding guidance for small projects and charities
• National Lottery Community Fund: Small Grants
• Arts Council England: Project Grants

Myth 3: Link workers- do they really exist?

Link workers are now a recognised and established part of the NHS personalised workforce. There are now around 3,300 link workers in post across England, supporting people referred by GPs, local authorities and community organisations. Some are based in GP practices, while others work in community or voluntary settings.

Link workers act as a broker between those who make the referral, and the organisations that patients may be referred to. It’s their job to have local knowledge of relevant charities, sports, arts, community and cultural organisations, groups and support that can be offered to a patient. Link workers stay in touch with a patient, and sometimes evaluate how well that person is doing through their participation in their social prescription. They can also refer a patient back to their GP, if they need a more medicalised intervention.

This short video by the National Academy of Social Prescribing gives an overview of what link workers do and how they help people connect with different activities and support.

Myth 4: The evidence doesn’t stack up yet.

Over the last several years, a strong and growing body of evidence has emerged demonstrating the impact of social prescribing. A recently published national evaluation found that having one additional link worker per 50,000 patients was associated with improved confidence in managing long-term conditions, better recognition of mental health needs, and an improved experience of general practice.

Local evaluations across the country, including in London, echo these findings. In some areas, participation in social prescribing programmes has been associated with reductions in GP appointments, overall service use, and associated costs. Another independent evaluation of the cross-Government Green Social Prescribing Programme showed statistically significant improvements for wellbeing and demonstrated that for every £1 invested, around £2.42 of social and economic value was created. This aligns with the wider creative health evidence base, which consistently highlights the role of arts, heritage and cultural activity in supporting wellbeing and social connection.

When thinking about your own work, evidencing impact can sometimes feel overwhelming, particularly for small organisations. A good place to start is to examine other arts and cultural organisations approaches to evaluation and build on already effectively used scales of health and wellbeing in relation to arts and culture. London Plus’ Creative Health Impact Framework offers tools to help plan for, evidence and communicate impact in a way that is proportionate and person-centred. The Social Prescribing Evaluation Toolkit, co-produced by Transformation Partners in Health and Care with link workers and services across London, also provides practical guidance for planning and measuring impact. It includes examples from local systems and shows how to combine participant feedback, referral data and knowledge in realistic ways across different settings.

Ultimately what matters is finding an approach that works for you, your funders and your participants. Over-evaluating and surveying participants also may not help them in their recovery, so think about who you might partner with to approach evaluation in a creative and sensitive way.

Myth 5: Only big organisations can deliver social prescribing.

This is not the case. Organisations of all sizes and freelance practitioners have been supporting people’s health and wellbeing through arts and culture for decades, long before the term social prescribing became common. The size of your organisation isn’t what matters most; the quality, safety and consistency of your offer are.
It can feel overwhelming to begin to engage with the social prescribing infrastructure as a lone practitioner or small organisation, but it is possible. In London there are opportunities to enrich your practice in relation to social prescribing through training, such as the training provided by Performing Medicine and Bromley by Bow Centre. There are clear steps you can put in place if you believe your practice or organisation could help someone being referred for social prescribing.

Step 1: People referred into social prescribing may have complex psychological, social and economic needs. Firstly, consider if your practice is set up in an optimal way to support someone who might have these kinds of needs. Think about any adjustments you might need to make, for example securing additional funding to offer longer-term arts courses or brushing up on your training or evaluation skills.

Step 2: Social prescribing works better when we all work together. Contact local arts and culture organisations and offer to collaborate on funding bids. You will have expertise that an organisation might lack, they might have space and resources that you do not have access to. Utilise tools like London Arts in Health’s Creative Health City website to find partners to collaborate with.

Step 3: Contact your local community GP or PCN and request to find more information on the local social prescribing offer. Make them aware of the kinds of arts in health practice you offer and how someone might be referred. Make sure you make it clear how you might be able to offer support for any referred patients through your practice. Provide the link worker with leaflets or a link to a website so referees can access information about what you offer.

Myth 6: Only specialist arts in health practitioners can deliver social prescribing.

Many arts and cultural organisations are already well placed to engage with social prescribing. This might be through existing activities that are on offer, or through the use of rehearsal or studio space that can be used by a local practitioner to deliver activities. Encouraging the take up of creative health activities through social prescribing in your organisation will widen the reach and diversity of audiences and help people to think differently about what arts and cultural organisations/venues can offer. We recommend following these three steps if you think your arts and cultural organisation is ready to be more actively involved in social prescribing.

Step 1: Think about what provision you already have in place that might have benefits for people being referred through the scheme. Is there a project, group or class already running that might already be beneficial to the scheme you can rebrand with a health and wellbeing efficacy?

Step 2: Social prescribing works better when we all work together. Connect with local arts in health practitioners and networks to widen your creative freelancers’ network. You might be able to work with new practitioners who can offer arts in health activities on behalf of your organisation. Utilise free tools like London Arts and Health’s Creative Health Map.

Step 3: Contact your local community GP or PCN and request to find out more about the social prescribing. London Plus offers good resources and ideas for making this contact. Make them aware of the kinds of groups and classes you offer, and how they might be relevant to someone looking to engage and be referred to arts and cultural organisations for health in your local area. Did you know? Arts and cultural practitioners also make great link workers. Find out more about link worker training and accreditation from the National Association of Link Workers.

Myth 7: Referrals are impossible to get.

This is not the case, and referrals are increasing as social prescribing continues to expand across the country. Referrals develop through building trust and visibility. Link workers refer to organisations they know and feel confident will provide a safe and consistent experience for the people they work with.

You can make it easier for link workers to get to know what you do by inviting them to visit sessions or hosting informal introductions that can help them understand who the activity is for, what the environment feels like and ultimately assess how it might support people with different needs.

While many referrals do come through GP practices, it can also be helpful to connect more widely in your community. Speaking with local VCSE organisations, community centres, libraries, housing associations, and social care teams can increase awareness of your offer. You can also market your services directly to patients by advertising in local newsletters and newspapers, running open days, and organising taster sessions of activities.

Referrals often build gradually. The pace of referrals may increase once link workers see positive participant experiences. Small wins, such as a few participants attending regularly and leaving positive feedback can help build momentum. Consistent presence, clear communication and relationships are the foundations of sustainable referral pathways.

English National Opera, ENO Breathe

ENO Breathe is an online programme developed in partnership with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust that has been specifically developed for people recovering from COVID-19, who are still suffering from breathlessness and its associated anxiety. Patients can be referred to ENO Breathe by their GP, link worker or other healthcare professionals after being medically assessed by a specialist long COVID-19 clinic. The programme has specific medical criteria for referrals in order to ensure safety. Participants engage in a free, six-week programme, working with an ENO vocal specialist. The workshops provide activities designed to support with breathing control and wellbeing, providing tools for the self-management of breath and anxiety. Digital resources support the online sessions (delivered in person on Zoom), by providing videos and downloadable playlists designed to reinforce the in-person learning. Once the programme has finished participants also have the chance to continue with fortnightly drop-in sessions online, keeping them connected in their recovery.

Glossary

• Creative Health: An approach recognising that arts, culture and heritage can support health and wellbeing.
• Evaluation Framework: A methodology by which an arts and cultural organisation can record and analyse how effective an arts intervention was.
• GLA: Greater London Authority.
• GP: General Practitioners. Doctor surgeries and health care centres are often referred to as ‘GPs’.
• PCNS: Primary Care Networks. PCNS refer to groups of, for example, GP practices in the UK that pool and share resources such as link workers.
• ICB: Integrated Care Board, Regional NHS body responsible for planning and funding local health services, including community-based approaches such as social prescribing.
• VCSE: Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise. This term refers to third sector organisations, charities and social enterprises that provide expertise in working with people in the community where they live.

Further resources about social prescribing

There is an overwhelming amount of information about social prescribing, and it is hard to know where to start. The best place to go for up to date information is the National Academy for Social Prescribing, which is an organisation collectively pooling information and action about social prescribing across the UK. There are other resources that will also provide relevant information depending on what you are looking for.

NHS England Personalised Care, including links and information about social prescribing.

Social Prescribing Network, including conference information.

University of Westminster, making sense of social prescribing.

Culture Health and Wellbeing Alliance, information about social prescribing.

A GLA-commissioned portal delivered by Simply Connect called Social Prescribing London is now online. Aimed primarily at the VCSE sector, this portal is also useful for link workers and commissioners in London.

Arts and Culture on prescription: a checklist

If you are a freelancer or arts and cultural organisation it may be worth considering these top 10 things before offering social prescribing.

1. Financials: do you have a robust funding model for your project or programme? Can the programme be sustained long term; consider the effect on your referred participants if the programme suddenly closed due to lack of funding.
2. Partnerships: think about who you can partner with locally to strengthen what you are offering.
3. Training: what training might you need to ensure your project or programme goes well?
4. Referrals: how might you secure referrals into your programme; think about how to connect with PCNs and GPs locally, for example.
5. Evaluation: what expectations do funders, or your link worker have around evaluation?
6. Insurance, DBS check, mental health first aid training: what practical paperwork must you have in place to protect not only your participants but also yourself?
7. Safeguarding: you must have a safeguarding policy in place; think about if a participant discloses something you are worried about – how might you flag this to a relevant medical professional
8. Data protection, GDPR: what data are you collecting about your participants? Where is that stored? Who might need access to it?
9. Link worker relationship and expectations: your link worker might request reports on referrals or updates on how they are doing. Make sure you have the time to manage this paperwork.
10. The arts and cultural programme or project itself: how will you structure your project, will you need to bring in any specialist arts practitioners to support you in delivering the work on particular health issues or types of patients?

Acknowledgements

The Arts and Culture: Social Prescribing Myth Buster was originally created by London Arts in Health in 2021 and was commissioned by the Mayor of London and his Culture and Creative Industries team. This updated version of the report was created in 2025 as a response to the current landscape.

The original guide was researched and written by Anna Woolf and London Arts and Health, with special thanks to former Director Jenni Regan and former Communications lead Neil Parker. The updated version was written by Amalia Restrepo with support from the rest of the team.

The Arts and Culture: Social Prescribing Myth Buster was originally designed by Keith Hagan.

Copyright London Arts and Health, 2025.