Social Prescribing Day - what’s changing, what’s working and what needs attention

A sector under pressure but moving forward

Social Prescribing has supported a shift in perceptions within health systems. Both of community services more broadly and of nature‑based activities specifically.

The recent Cross‑Government Green Social Prescribing Programme has validated what practitioners have long known: supporting people to spend time in nature, undertake meaningful activities, and connect within a facilitated social environment can transform lives. Crucially, the pilot helped policymakers and clinicians recognise that nature-based activities can play a significant role in addressing wider determinants of health.

Although we are moving forward, nature-based activity providers continue to operate under enormous strain, funding is short term, workforce capacity is stretched, training budgets are thin, and referral pathways can be inconsistent. These pressures aren’t unique to those of us in Social and Therapeutic Horticulture, they reflect the wider challenges faced across community-based provision, but they are felt acutely in a sector that delivers specialist, relational work with people who often have complex needs.

Positive momentum across the UK and beyond

This past year has brought encouraging developments. Wales published its National Framework for Social Prescribing, providing much needed clarity and consistency around models of delivery. And internationally, the UK’s leadership in social prescribing has been recognised through NASP’s global partnerships and its WHO Collaborating Centre designation.

For the first time, Thrive has officially been accepted onto the NHS Social Impact Framework, a significant milestone for us that recognises the quality and impact of our services. This framework offers a compliant route for NHS and public sector organisations to access community led services that improve outcomes, wellbeing and system efficiency.

These frameworks and broader networks matter. They offer visibility, legitimacy, and shared learning. All of which help elevate nature-based interventions within the wider health landscape.

We cannot ignore the continuing funding reality

Goodwill and strong outcomes don’t keep services running. Providers need financial sustainability. The NASP call for a long-term Social Prescribing Fund was a welcome step, aiming to bring £1 billion over ten years into community provision. But for frontline delivery, the needs remain clear:

• Ringfenced funding for link workers, so they have time for community engagement and appropriate referral-making.

• Training for referrers in levels of provision and up to date directories, ensuring referrals are safe and appropriate.

• Longterm, sustainable funding for providers, not just project grants but commissioning models that allow organisations to invest, grow and retain staff.

• Clear training routes, competencies, ethics and standards for nature-based practice, developed by those with appropriate expertise.

• Research that builds on the existing evidence base and enables us all to overcome the barriers to commissioning.

• Clarity about what Green Social Prescribing is and isn’t, and a recognition that most referrals to nature-based therapies do not come via a GSP route.

Securing these will determine whether organisations can deliver safely and sustainably.

Looking ahead

The Green Social Prescribing Phase 2 report will build on the successes of Phase 1 by strengthening the evidence, improving system‑wide data flow, and testing sustainable, scalable models of nature‑based interventions.

Alongside this, DEFRA’s upcoming research into the barriers and enablers for nature-based providers will raise the voice of those receiving GSP referrals.

Social prescribing has brought nature firmly into conversations about health improvement, prevention and wellbeing. To translate this progress into long term, equitable access to nature-based support, we must address the structural barriers.

This Social Prescribing Day, I remain optimistic. The evidence is strong, the direction of travel is encouraging, and the value of nature-based interventions is clearer than ever.