4th UK Annual Social Prescribing Link Worker Day 19th May 2022

Theme: Transforming Healthcare for ALL

Summary: The 4th UK Annual Social Prescribing Link Worker Day will take place on 19th May 2022 to celebrate and raise awareness of Social Prescribing Link Workers’ impact and role in transforming healthcare for All. The annual Link Worker Day conference and awards are key activities marking the day. We have partnered with The Healthcare Show -The UK’s leading collaborative event for the entire health and social care community and have incorporated the #LinkWorkerDay2022 Conference and awards into the show at ExCeL London on 18-19 May.

With Social Prescribing Link Workers embedded into the NHS, health care can meaningfully reduce inequalities and social injustice, deliver proactive and holistic care to people and transform healthcare for all, which offers exponential benefits.

The conference provides an unprecedented opportunity to reconnect with colleagues in-person. It is a chance to harvest tangible learning and practical solutions on the breadth of use of social prescribing and how to embed it into strategic delivery to transform healthcare for all. The healthcare show will be attended by 6,000 senior healthcare managers, health professionals, and clinicians striving to transform care and improve quality against the backdrop of Covid-19.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shed light on deep-rooted inequalities and enabled us to experience how social, economic, and environmental factors affect our health and communities. Therefore, there is a collective responsibility to promote a model of health that is not solely predicated on the medical aspects but instead balances medical and social better to meet individuals’ and communities’ holistic health needs.

Social Prescribing Link Workers (SPLWs) play a pivotal role in this regard because they recognise that the context of people’s lives determines their health. Operating holistically and proactively, SPLWs identify socio-economic and environmental factors impacting health, especially those resulting from injustice and inequality. Working embedded within the community, the longitudinal approach of the SPLW confers a unique understanding that facilitates ground-up solutions and the development of pre-existing strengths and assets, which empowers people to take charge of their narratives and become active participants in their community driving healthcare transformation.

The SPLW model is underpinned by an inclusive approach that ensures equitable access to healthcare services and support for underserved groups, communities, and individuals, a model which complements the medical model and transforms healthcare for All.

About National Association of Link Workers

National Association of Link Workers is an independent grassroots social innovation promoting the role and value of Social Prescribing Link Workers As the only professional body for Social Prescribing Link Workers in the UK, we are committed to upholding confidence and integrity of the profession by ensuring patients and communities receive high quality social prescribing services.

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