Rethinking Social Prescribing as an Ecosystem

In our conversations about social prescribing, something kept coming up: it’s not enough to send people to community groups if those groups are barely staying afloat.

Karen Pilkington put it bluntly: “If there’s no community group left, then there’s nowhere for link workers to send people!”

That insight prompted deeper thinking. What if social prescribing isn’t just about referral pathways—but about a whole care ecosystem?

We began exploring how funding, infrastructure, and relationships intersect. Instead of focusing solely on frontline link workers, we asked: are we supporting the community infrastructure underneath them?

Our reflections led to the idea of an ‘economy of care’—a model where local groups are recognised not as optional extras but as foundational health partners.

We also explored ways to reduce gatekeeping, create better links between statutory and voluntary sectors, and build long-term relational networks.

Because prescribing doesn’t create belonging. Relationships do. And that means investing not just in systems, but in the humans who hold them.