Using WELLBYs to demonstrate the social value of social prescribing at a national level: evidence from Green Social Prescribing in England

Social prescribing is a health policy initiative that aims to create closer links betweenhealth services and community activities. Despite its rapid adoption there are concernsabout efficacy and value for money. We used a WELLBY (Wellbeing Adjusted Life Year)approach to identify the social value created through a national mental health-focussedgreen social prescribing (GSP) programme in England (2021-23). We found that GSP canlead to significant wellbeing benefits for people experiencing mental ill-health, with asocial return on investment (SROI) of between £2.38-£5.90. However, we argue that theWELLBY approach should not be used uncritically. In our study WELLBYs proved to be aneffective social value measure for low to mid cost GSP pathways where the targetbeneficiaries are likely to have mild to moderate mental health needs. For higher costpathways providing targeted support for people with severe mental health needs theWELLBY was less effective and clinical measures of value may be more appropriate.