What is the Social Prescribing Champion Scheme?
Welcome back to the SP blog!
In last week’s post, we spoke to you about the nitty-gritty details of social prescribing and the evidence we have for it. Today, we’ll be chatting about the SP scheme, how we work and what we do, so keep reading to learn more!
Where it all began…
The SP scheme was set up in 2017, to educate and raise awareness of social prescribing through 4 main aims:
Since our scheme was set up by students for students, we felt that we could accurately recognise the gaps in the university curriculum when it came to social prescribing. Through our National Social Prescribing Student Champion Scheme, we recruited passionate students from across the country. It was now time to achieve our goal of increasing social prescribing awareness & integrate SP into the university curriculum!
So who’s part of the team?
Since we had big dreams, we required an efficient structure and proactive teamworking. The scheme has rapidly grown over the past 4 years and we’ve definitely adapted accordingly!
First up, we created a National Core Team, to oversee and coordinate the scheme’s wider activities. Next, we formed Regional Leads to look after and advise individual Student Champions, who are responsible for hosting local SP events at their respective universities, as seen on the map below.
Although the scheme originally started with medical students, we’re aware of other professions wanting to get involved in the SP movement. Therefore, in recent months we have extended our fantastic team to include an AHP Branch, so watch this space for more exciting news!
How can I get involved?
Well, this is an excellent question! From being a Student Champion (applications are open until 8th November 2021) to attending our Annual Social Prescribing Conference, there are plenty of ways to get involved with the SP scheme.
We’re currently running a webinar series, where you can learn more about social prescribing and our partners (NASP and NHSE). You can attend local events at your university and even get involved online via our Twitter account and website!
What’s next?
Enjoy what you read today? To stay up to date with our activities, follow our socials:
Twitter: @SP_champScheme
Facebook: NHS Social Prescribing Student Champion Scheme
Email: socialprescribing@collegeofmedicine.org.uk
Website: spforall.org