Meet a Social Prescriber!
Becky Sultana is a Social Prescriber in Poole.
Hi Becky, thank you so much for talking to us today. I wonder if you could tell us a little about yourself?
Hello! My name is Becky, I’m a Social Prescriber for Poole North Primary Care Network in Dorset. I support patients registered in 4 GP practices covering Canford Heath, Oakdale, Creekmoor, Broadstone, Corfe Mullen and Merley. I have lived and worked in the area for most of my life. When I’m not working you’ll either find me running, practising yoga, painting/drawing and travelling. I also like to try new things – ballroom dancing, pottery, flower arranging – just to name a few! Let’s just say I like to keep busy!
This may well be an impossible question, but what does an average day look like for you as a social prescriber?
The role is quite holistic, challenging yet rewarding as we support a wide range of patients with various needs. I spend most of my time based in GP practices, and when I am not directly in contact with patients, I make effort to work with the community whether it’s other local voluntary organisations or services that aim to support people especially to promote positive health and wellbeing, as well as reduce social isolation. It’s also important to try and have a good presence at work to ensure colleagues know I am available and to remind them on how social prescribing can benefit them as well as patients, as this tends to be done during GP meetings etc.
What has been your most significant accomplishment in your role?
I joined the team as their very first Social Prescriber and it has certainly been a learning curve for all. Having been a Social Prescriber for just over two years and with my past work experiences I have been able to use existing knowledge, skills such as local support in the community, working with other organisations as well as taking the opportunity to learn new things to really be a good Social Prescriber. I have been able to work closely with voluntary support groups to support many during the pandemic, whether it’s helping patients attend their appointments, helping with shopping/prescriptions, befriending and also highlighting gaps in services/support and to try and create groups and new services to support those in need. Another successful project was creating a ‘new parent’ pack for our patients which was based around information on local groups, services and also included some items for their new child and self-care items for the parents!
What is the biggest challenge you currently face in your role?
I think the biggest challenge goes without saying is the pandemic. For almost 2 years many of us weren’t able to see other family or friends and many more of us became even more isolated. We had to adapt quite quickly and work closely with outside organisations to deliver support safely and successfully.
What advice might you give to people who want to find out more about social prescribing?
The Kings’ Fund and NHS England have a lot of information about Social Prescribing. I would highly encourage to speak to your own GP surgery and reach out to local VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise) organisations - remember there are no such things as silly questions!
What would you like to see happen in the world of social prescribing moving forwards?
We need a healthy and adequately resourced voluntary sector moving forward which Social Prescribing relies on. Working with communities has been a huge part of our role and will allow Social Prescribers to focus on harnessing the power of holistic social prescribing based on ‘what matters to me, not what is the matter to me’. I would personally like to see us working more closely with VCSE sector and feel more part of the community but also utilise resources and build in house support centred around non-medical needs such as support groups, using our patient participation groups to support vulnerable people in the community. I would like to see more of the way of educating all, whether it’s colleagues, local authorities, local social groups as I feel we all do a bit of social prescribing without realising!
If someone was considering becoming a social prescriber or a link worker, what would you say to them?
There is a lot of information available about Social Prescribing! You’ll learn a lot, help people and develop knowledge, skills, and interpersonal skills to become confident and change people’s lives for the better. It is important to have good listening and communication skills. Most importantly to become a Social Prescriber, it’s more about life experience, personal qualities and values that are more important than the qualifications! Once you are in a role you should receive the training and development to support you.