Social prescribing may still sound obscure, but a service in Byker and Heaton has "transformed the lives" of people with a range of health and wellbeing issues over the past few months.
The idea is that social prescribers are link workers based at GPs' practices who patients may not know they can turn to. Tracy Bell is one such worker - based at Heaton Road surgery. Her job is to pick up cases that might not be medical issues but relate to the wellbeing of patients in the area, whether that involves helping someone battle housing issues or giving someone a lift to their hospital appointment.
By working to improve people's lives in a holistic manner, Tracy's work takes some of the strain off medics at the practice, but she works closely with them to ensure people get all of the support they need. One way she does this is by running a healthy eating class each week at St Silas Church in Byker.
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With support from dieticians at the Newcastle Hospitals Trust and the team at East End Pool's gym, over the last twelve weeks Tracy has been helping people from a range of backgrounds and all with different needs to get out and about, build their self-confidence, incorporate exercise into their daily lives and learn about healthy eating habits.
Attendees at the class include those looking to deal with weight issues or learn how to keep their cholesterol down, a woman hoping to lose weight ahead of a knee replacement and someone getting their confidence back as they try to recover from Long Covid.
Tracy explained about the purpose of the class. She said: "It's a healthy eating group and it's also a bit about exercise and building self-esteem, confidence and positive mental health too.
"The people who come along take to the groups really well. I'm a big believer in getting exercise in as part of your daily routine - and the groups have picked that up. It's important that it's a healthy eating group, rather than calling it a weight loss group. We don't want there to be that sort of pressure. And if you are able to change someone's eating habits, that will help them to lose weight too."
How can a social prescriber help?
Social prescribing is a key part of the NHS's plan to tackle wider health and wellbeing issues - and there are now social prescribing link workers based at most GP practices in Newcastle. Tracy explained that her work is incredibly diverse: "I'm based in the GPs' practice and whenever a patient goes in to see their doctor and talks about an issue that might not be clinical, they might be passed on to me. I get referrals from doctors, nurses, or anyone else in the practice - but also from places like the Job Centre or local charities. You can also self-refer, and we have posters around the area.
"I do have an office and particularly before Covid people might come and have a chat. I often go for walks with patients. There are people out there who really struggle to get to appointments - whether it's perhaps because they're older and frail or to do with their mental health, I'll pick them up and help them get to where they need to be."
Tracy explained how important it can be to give someone time and attention - especially if they are dealing with problems with housing or lifestyle that might, without a helping hand, soon begin to have a detrimental impact on their health. She works to tackle loneliness and also explained how helping to rebuild people's self-confidence in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic was also vital.
One way in which she helps people make friends and mix in the community is by signposting people to a weekly lunch at Heaton Baptist Church. She added: "We all pop along and it's a way of meeting up, chatting to people and getting used to being in small groups. Some of the people I've taken along are now just people there who I catch up with each week.
"Sometimes someone will ring up and it'll just be the one phone call. They'll call about stopping smoking and I'll put the referral in and that'll be that. But others will call and I'll still be meeting with them after a year for a walk every couple of weeks to check they're ok.
"GPs are pushed for time, but they're very good at signposting things. But some times when people might need a bit extra, that's where I come in. One of the big things is helping people if they have issues with, for example, housing complaints and I can help them access the right services."
Tracy, who is from North Tyneside and worked at Barnado's for many years, said she had initially been surprised to learn that people called their GPs to discuss non-medical issues, but said people in that situation now shouldn't be worried about ringing up their practice and asking to speak to a social prescriber.
"If anyone is in that situation, just ring up your GP, explain the problem and ask if there's a social prescriber in the practice - that's what we're here for."
'It makes a massive difference'
At Tracy's healthy eating group, each attendee explained how much of a difference the class had made to their state of mind. Members like Kelvin Bell, 55, spoke of how the supportive atmosphere was a real bonus.
"I started to come when after my last check-up with the GP they told me my cholesterol was too high and I had high blood pressure too," he said. "I didn't want to have take any more tablets so instead thought I would try to make some lifestyle changes. Since then, well, I've obviously been doing something right. It's also been so good for my mental health - I have anxiety and depression. Just getting out and meeting people is really good for me."
Dave Paterson, 51, was referred by his doctor to help with his weight and eating issues. "It's been really canny," he said. "I've learned a lot about health eating. I do still struggle with my diet, but that's probably going to be the case for the rest of my life. This group has been really good - we're all really supportive of one another."
Husband-and-wife Alex and June Baines are both in their 70s. "They rang us up and asked if I fancied coming along. I'm not here to lose weight but it's been interesting to hear about diet - I'm type 2 diabetic and a healthy diet is a really good thing," he said. Everyone gets to know everyone and you have a good chat. We're people from all walks of life."
And June continued: "It's been a really good reminder of some of things you maybe know at one stage but forget about healthy eating. Every week we also do some gentle exercise which is lovely too."
For Marian Allan, 53 and a carer from Byker, getting involved with Tracy's group has made a massive difference. She said: "The reason I've hooked up with this group and Tracy is that I'm waiting for a knee replacement and it's to try and get the BMI down. I've found it really reassuring that there are all these people here to help us. It's been about learning new recipes and meeting new people. And after here, I go training - I'm a 1st Dan black belt!"
Marian added that, after surviving cancer multiple times, the group was another way in which she was looking to embrace life. "It's made a massive difference to me. Tracy has got so many recipes even if you're on a budget. It's really helped. There should be more and more of this kind of thing out there, and more people like Tracy willing to help. People shouldn't be frightened of trying something like this."
