People in Guernsey are being encouraged to try social prescribing to improve their mental and physical health.
Social prescribing is a way to enhance people’s wellbeing by linking them with community activities and support services.
Trish De Carteret, Bailiwick Social Prescribing Lead, said the free service could “help you connect with the right people, places, and activities so you feel less isolated and more supported”.
Mrs De Carteret said lots of people thought about physical and mental wellbeing, but there was a “whole social thing in the middle” people forgot about.
Contact with people, learning, and engaging with the community and the environment were all “really good for your mental and physical well being”, she added.
Self-referral
Bailiwick Social Prescribing (BSP) was set up in 2020 and has now been rolled out more widely.
The scheme puts people in touch with a ‘link worker’, who can show them information about and signpost them to services that can help, ranging from sports and social clubs to bereavement counselling or financial advice.
As well as signposting, the link worker can help arrange things, including transport, and can come along with you to the first session for people lacking confidence.
Perviously the service was only available to people who had been referred through their GP or mental health service Healthy Minds.
However, since Christmas people can also self-refer by turning up to one of BSP’s regular drop in sessions.
They can also get a referral through the island’s pain clinic or charity Guernsey Chest and Heart.
“What we’re trying to do is remove the barrier of paying £75 to see your GP,” she added.