Creating a Neighbourhood Health Service: The Role of Churches in Social Prescribing

Earlier this year, Theos Think Tank published a report entitled Creating a Neighbourhood Health Service: The role of churches and faith groups in social prescribing.

Here are some of the main points from the report, alongside suggestions for how our church communities can get involved.

What is social prescribing?

The term ‘social prescribing’ may be new, but the idea is simple: to create a wider neighbourhood health service. It comes at a time when NHS and social care services in England are stretched to breaking point. Demand for GP appointments is at record levels, and one in five appointments are for non-medical reasons such as loneliness, housing, or debt.

Social prescribing—connecting people with community-based activities that support mental and emotional wellbeing—can be part of the solution. Theos research found that Christian churches (and other faith groups) already host a wealth of welcoming and “referrable” activities. Churches are often seen as “anchors of the community,” providing buildings, resources, volunteers, and pastoral or spiritual care.

The church and social prescribing

At their best, churches are trusted places, deeply rooted in local communities, and there for the long haul. This makes them natural partners for medical services.

Take the example of Sonya Chitty. Following a prophetic word, she approached her local surgery to explore how the church might serve alongside medical practitioners. That first step later led to her current role leading a team of Social Prescribers across three GP surgeries in Harpenden. From the practitioner’s perspective, she is enthusiastic about the contribution churches can make.

Barriers and opportunities

The Theos report recognises real opportunities but also barriers: communication gaps, administrative challenges, and simple lack of awareness among churches about what social prescribing is. It offers recommendations for relationship-building between faith groups and healthcare professionals at neighbourhood, place, and system levels.

The neighbourhood level is often the most natural starting point for churches.

Engaging your community

Theos highlights several ways faith groups can engage: actively promoting church activities to Link Workers and GP surgeries, convening forums that connect faith and health, and raising awareness of social prescribing within their congregations.

Here are the practical steps:

• Connect with your Primary Care Network (PCN). PCNs are looking for reliable organisations they can trust.

• Approach your local surgery. Ask GPs where the gaps are—many will be grateful for partners who can help address underlying issues behind patients’ symptoms.

• Work with Community Connectors. These link workers partner with GPs to run local clinics.

Next, identify what you already do as a church: lunch clubs, toddler groups, foodbanks, or introductory faith courses. The remit of social prescribing is broad, so don’t assume everyone knows what’s available.

It may be helpful to bring together a core team in your church to coordinate the services you can offer and build relationships with local Social Prescribers.

Beyond existing ministries, be aware that there may be other hidden or unused volunteer resources in your church that can meet the needs identified by your local GPs. For example, helping people with form filling (benefits, job applications, 'blue badge' applications), supporting carers, offering literacy help, or running conversational English sessions.

It is good to remember that the NHS Constitution has always acknowledged the spiritual needs of patients. Social prescribing offers a timely opportunity for the church to come alongside medical practitioners and actively make a difference in partnership with the medical practitioners who faithfully serve our communities.