The positive impact of social prescribing on mental wellbeing

Social prescribing may seem like a relatively new term, and whilst, indeed, some health practitioners are not fully aware of the benefits, the system of prescribing non-medicalised activities in local communities does have quite a long history.

Dating back to the early 1980s, the National
Health Service (NHS) have trialled various
schemes over the years, before incorporating social
prescribing into their Long Term Plan in 2019.

It’s estimated by the NHS that over 60% of clinical
commissioning groups in England now have social prescribing schemes in place.

How Does It Work?

The nature of social prescribing varies depending on the location and there are a few different models, but the core concept remains the same;

Health professionals such as GPs (social and charity workers too) can refer people to a ‘link worker’, sometimes called a community connector, or health adviser, who can then refer people to an appropriate scheme, activity, or group that can meet their needs better than primary health care can.

The types of activities available for people accessing social prescribing services are vast and can range from gardening to befriending services.

Activities are usually provided within the community and are mostly administered by charities, but private enterprises may also be involved in some areas.

All activities prescribed are designed to help improve a
person’s health and wellbeing, in ways that medicine
can't.

Evidence suggests that when people have their emotional, practical, and health needs met within their community, they are more empowered, less likely to depend on medical care, and can actively work on their own health and wellness.

Impact On Mental Wellbeing

The goal of social prescribing has always been to ease pressure on medical services and reduce care costs – essentially, help ease pressure on the NHS and reduce the number of people accessing the service that don’t need medical care but have complex needs that would be better met elsewhere.

For people accessing social prescribing services, the benefits can be tremendous with the focus being on empowering people to be more proactive when it comes to improving their health, particularly their mental health.

It has long been known that there is a link between physical health and mental health, for some people, particularly those with chronic conditions, the line between the two can become blurred, and these people must have their needs met more holistically.

The type of people using social prescribing services are very varied and includes people that have mental illnesses, long-term complex health conditions, and those that are isolated either through illness, disability, or other social factors.

Although social prescribing services can be practical – signposting people to welfare support and helping with independent living, the major need fulfilled by most services is wellbeing.

Complex emotional needs are often difficult to treat by primary health services, but social prescribing schemes provide access to a wide range of schemes such as community gardens, cooking groups, art therapies, and ways to keep active such as swimming or gym access.

For some people, their wellness needs can be effectively met by just having someone to talk to and expanding their social network. For example, Brighton-based charity Together Co helps connect people to places and other people, increasing their social connections, and ultimately, their wellbeing.

There is evidence that these schemes are very effective.

For example, a Shropshire scheme reported in 2019 that participants reported significant improvements in measures of wellbeing and loneliness.

An older project carried out in Bristol reported improvements in anxiety felt by participants, feelings about their health and overall quality of life.

Exercise based schemes can also be effective at increasing wellbeing – there are extremely strong links between physical activity and wellbeing, but for some people, accessing traditional forms of exercise, such as a gym, can be difficult for multiple, often complex reasons.

One centre in Sussex is hoping to change that and
welcome a more diverse range of people to their
inclusive space – VIM Health has an accessible gym
that welcomes people with disabilities and chronic
conditions.

The gym features accessible equipment and the team are currently busy forming social prescribing links in their surrounding area so that they can welcome even more people to the gym community.

Overall, social prescribing is becoming more prominent in the public eye, as are the health and mental wellbeing benefits associated with it.

Schemes have been widely adopted right around the UK and these will continue to increase in importance, particularly following the Covid pandemic which has left many struggling with the long-term effects of long Covid.

How LusioMATE is redefining rehab

The Mission

For the past four years the team at Lusio Rehab have been on a mission to redraw the boundaries and rehabilitation potential for people living with neurological conditions and injuries through their innovative rehabilitation technology.

LusioMATE, an app-based physical therapy ecosystem that utilises wearable sensors, was launched by Lusio Rehab in 2018.

The combination of their drive to develop and provide the most engaging and usable technology, with a business culture that places human interactions and relationships with its user community as paramount, has led to rocketing demand for LusioMATE globally, with some exciting developments locally in the UK.

LusioMATE uses fun in-app exer-games to motivate and engage patients during their treatment.

The wearable sensors attach to any part of the body and connect to the LusioMATE app via Bluetooth.

Patients can then play a variety of exergames tailored to their specific needs, which not only makes the therapy process more enjoyable but also helps to improve adherence and ultimately, treatment outcomes.

“Everything that we live and breathe within Lusio Rehab is purely focused on our core mission, which is to help people move and engage with their rehab in a way that is as much fun as possible, and make it as easy as possible to do that so we can help them do more” says Jamie Borg, Lusio Rehab’s Europe and Middle East region manager.

“And that really comes from the everyday stories of success that we hear from our user communities, both from clinicians and the users directly.

"We are probably unique as a medical device manufacturer in the extent of our deep and ongoing relationships with our user communities.

"We get to hear first-hand about the impact that LusioMATE has and this in turn drives every single part of our business including product development, how we communicate and how we support and continue to support our users in the short, medium and long term”

That organic, real and human culture has clearly worked for Lusio Rehab and their user community.

“The feedback that we get from our users is that they love LusioMATE. They love how easy it is to use, how portable it is, how it can be used on any part of the body or on everyday items like cups or cutlery,” says Jamie.

“Crucially they love how open and accessible we make using LusioMATE.

"For example, we don’t limit certain games to certain movements. If you love one game you could do all of your movement goals in one game if you like.

"Also things like allowing others such as family members to use LusioMATE. We have some users who have a ‘Pizza and LusioMATE Night’ night with the family!

"Imagine the impact that will have on their rehabilitation! That pleasure and fun from moving. Especially when we know from the evidence that most people don’t engage with rehab. We just get completely blown away when we hear these stories” explains Jamie.

For neuro rehabilitation patients, LusioMATE offers a wide range of benefits.

The app provides real-time feedback on the patient's movements, helping them to track their progress and make adjustments as needed.

Movements as small as a few millimetres can be picked up by the wearable sensors meaning that even patients with extremely limited mobility can benefit from LusioMATE, as the app can be used for both gross and fine motor exercises.

LusioMATE's versatility is another key advantage for neuro rehabilitation patients.

The app is available for all Apple and Android devices making it accessible for patients to use at home or on the go, anytime, anywhere.

This is especially beneficial for patients who may have difficulty travelling to and from appointments, or who live in remote areas with limited access to rehabilitation services.

What stands LusioMATE apart from a rehabilitation perspective is its ability to be easily adopted at any point in the rehabilitation pathway, for use on any part of the body and in conjunction with everyday items like cutlery or pens.

This has seen a big increase in demand from stroke rehab service providers.

“The ability for rehabilitation settings to be monitored and easily adjusted between face to face therapist sessions is something that can have a huge impact on outcomes, especially in those first few months.

"LusioMATE is so easy to use and we can help stroke service providers easily increase the amount of rehab their patients do without increasing their human resource costs” Jamie
says.

“Also, providing patients with a LusioMATE early in their stroke rehab, that can follow them out into the community and their home rehab setting, is where LusioMATE really comes into its own.

"Users have a tool they are familiar with and really comfortable using, so they become more self managing in their rehab, as well as motivated to do more of it.

"In this way we are able to support the community rehab and Early Supported Discharge teams to provide rehab that can be monitored remotely and that real-time data on goal achievement and function are available at the touch of a button.”

Physio and OT clinics, hospitals, acute stroke units, intensive care units and community residential settings are all coming on board.

One example is a recent pilot with Leonard Cheshire Charity where the residents loved LusioMATE and as part of Leonard Cheshire’s assistive technology programme, LusioMATE will now be rolled out to a number of other centres,” Jamie explains.

2023 marked the start of an exciting new chapter for the Lusio Rehab team with CE marking completed, and they have already entered into discussions with a range of European and Middle Eastern healthcare providers and potential commercial partners.

With FDA approval almost complete, the Lusio Rehab mission to help people achieve their true neurorehabilitation potential by making physical therapy something engaging and fun is most certainly gathering pace.

lusiorehab.com