Sinead Murphy on social prescribing: 'We offer community'

"What we've found is that a lot of people are incredibly socially isolated."

Sinead Murphy: I am a health and wellbeing community referral link worker - it is quite a mouthful! Picture Dan Linehan

There are lots of people who find themselves stuck, or rooted to the spot and unable for a variety of reasons to move on. They might find themselves not engaging with people, with hobbies, with interests, with education, with the community they live in, not exercising. Their world's have become small and insular difficult and lonely place to inhabit.

That's where Social Prescribing and the role of people like me come in. We work to bridge the gap, to connect the person to the community around them, to support them, to listen to them and to work in partnership with them to co-create a “social prescription”.