From research to reality: Social prescribing in Scotland

This report, in partnership with Voluntary Health Scotland, brought together insights from a national workshop attended by representatives from academia, healthcare, government, and the third sector. The report reflects on the current state of social prescribing in Scotland and provides recommendations for policymakers to support its delivery and impact.

Download the from research to reality: Social prescribing in Scotland report (304KB, PDF)

Executive summary

On 20 May 2026, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Voluntary Health Scotland, co-hosted a workshop titled ‘From research to reality: Social prescribing in Scotland’. For the purposes of the workshop, social prescribing was defined as ‘a means for trusted individuals in clinical and community settings to identify that a person has non-medical, health-related social needs and to subsequently connect them to non-clinical support and services within the community by co-producing a social prescription – a non-medical prescription, to improve health and wellbeing and to strengthen community connections.’ Nearly 60 representatives from academia, policy, public, and third sectors came together to share insights, discuss the current state of social prescribing in Scotland, and explore pathways for improvement. The diverse mix of participants enabled rich discussion around the challenges, opportunities, and priorities for advancing social prescribing across Scotland, with participants demonstrating a high level of interest in the topic.

The half-day event consisted of talks across three thematic sessions – Research and evidence, policy, and practice and implementation – followed by roundtable discussions based on pre-selected questions. This report distils the key messages from these discussions, highlighting critical barriers to social prescribing in Scotland and setting out actionable recommendations for the Scottish Government, local authorities, and other relevant decision-makers. These recommendations aim to support the embedding of social prescribing as part of a preventative, person-led, and community-based health and care system in Scotland.

The report is not a verbatim record of the workshop discussions, nor an exhaustive account of all points raised. Rather, it presents a synthesis of the key themes that emerged. While social prescribing services are delivered by a range of practitioners and organisations, this report places particular emphasis on community link working.

The report identifies three key barriers to social prescribing in Scotland:

1. Resource constraints across statutory and third sectors
2. A lack of structured evaluation frameworks and challenges to patient data accessibility
3. Barriers to accessing services

It sets out three corresponding recommendations to address these challenges:

1. Provide long-term, sustainable funding for community link worker programmes and third sector organisations to support the delivery and embedding of social prescribing across Scotland;
2. Establish clear data guidelines and remove barriers to data accessibility and sharing; and
3. Adopt a proportionate approach to service delivery, with additional support directed towards those with the greatest need.

Evidence supporting the health, service, and economic benefits of social prescribing

Service user

• Increases in happiness¹, life satisfaction¹, and self-esteem²
• Improved mental and physical health³
• Increased confidence in managing long-term conditions⁴
• Feeling more supported by local services and organisations⁴
• Improved GP experiences⁴
• Decreased anxiety¹

Healthcare

• Reduction in GP appointments, hospital admissions, and A&E visits⁵
• Increased GP job satisfaction⁶
• Estimated return of £9 for each £1 invested¹

[1] Bu, F., Hayes, D., Munford, L., & Fancourt, D. (2026). The impact of social prescribing on well-being outcomes in a nationwide analysis. Nature Health, 1-8. 10.1038/s44360-026-00099-w

[2] Chatterjee, H. J., Camic, P. M., Lockyer, B., & Thomson, L. J. (2018). Non-clinical community interventions: a systematised review of social prescribing schemes. Arts & health, 10(2), 97-123. 10.1080/17533015.2017.1334002

[3] Makanjuola, A., Lynch, M., Hartfiel, N., Cuthbert, A., & Edwards, R. T. (2023). Prevention of poor physical and mental health through the green social prescribing opening doors to the outdoors programme: a social return on investment analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(12), 6111. 10.3390/ijerph20126111

[4] Wilding, A., Agboraw, E., Munford, L., Sutton, M., Mercer, S. W., Salisbury, C., … & Wilson, P. (2025). Impact of the rollout of the national social prescribing link worker programme on population outcomes: evidence from a repeated cross-sectional survey. British Journal of General Practice. 10.3399/BJGP.2024.0542

[5] O’Connell Francischetto, E., Bradly, J., & Knight, K (2024). The impact of social prescribing on health service use and costs: Examples of local evaluations in practice. National Academy for Social Prescribing. https://socialprescribingacademy.org.uk/media/ibtdvgn0/nasp_sp_impactonservice_nov24.pdf

[6] Evers, S., Kenkre, J., Kloppe, T., Kurpas, D., Mendive, J. M., Petrazzuoli, F., & Vidal-Alaball, J. (2024). Survey of general practitioners’ awareness, practice and perception of social prescribing across Europe. European Journal of General Practice, 30(1), 2351806. 10.1080/13814788.2024.2351806

Download

Download the from research to reality: Social prescribing in Scotland report (304KB, PDF)