LAUSR

It has been estimated that 19% of patients mainly consult their General Practice (GP) for social problems and social welfare advice [1]. For this group of patients, the medical model alone fails to meet patient needs. Social prescribing (SP) aims to complement the medical model, alleviate current pressures and address the unmet needs. Social prescribing is enabling healthcare professionals to refer patients to a link worker, to codesign a non-clinical social prescription to improve their health and wellbeing [2]. The importance of social prescribing has been illustrated by the National Healthcare System (NHS) Five Year Forward View [3]. Social prescribing has a range of positive outcomes for patients, including increased selfesteem, improved mood, increase resilience, improved mental health and improved quality of life [2]. However, there is a lack of awareness regarding social prescribing among healthcare professionals [4]. A pilot study has demonstrated that most GPs are slow to identify patients who would benefit from social prescribing, whereas GPs with previous experience of the concept are able to do so without any difficulty [5]. It is therefore important to raise awareness of this concept to current and future clinicians. Given that social prescribing is not currently part of the core medical school curriculum for undergraduate and postgraduate students, it is necessary to develop alternative strategies for teaching this subject.