About Us

We are a network of people who are connected by a shared belief in the potential of Social Prescribing as a force for good.

We believe Social Prescribing reduces health inequalities and improves wellbeing by targeting the social determinants of health.

Our purpose is to champion Social Prescribing so that it is valued, understood and sustained across the island of Ireland.

Everything we do as a network is underpinned by an agreed set of principles, these are;

Our Ambition

Our ambition is that Ireland is recognised as a world leader in Social Prescribing. This means:

Steering Group

The driving force behind the All Ireland Social Prescribing Network

Orla is a Project Manager working in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme in the Health Service Executive, Ireland. Orla has a background in research, policy and health promotion in the areas of childhood obesity, food poverty, cancer screening, mental health promotion and social prescribing. Orla is centrally involved in supporting the mainstreaming and integration of social prescribing within the Irish Health Service.

Orla Walsh

Project Manager - HSE

Social Prescribing Co-Ordinator with the DLR Social Prescribing Programme for Health & Wellbeing and representative of the Irish Social Prescribing Peer Network, thrives every day on supporting community members to link in with local supports and activities to improve their health, wellbeing and social connections. Lisa is very passionate about social prescribing and its future as well as peer support for practitioners.

Lisa Sieger-Jamison

Southside Partnership DLR & Irish Social Prescribing Peer Network

Jennifer is driven by a passion for ending health inequalities. She set up Elemental with Leeann Monk, to establish, scale and measure the impact of social prescribing, connecting people, building communities, and improving lives. Jennifer works every day on that mission, to spread the word about the social prescribing movement and demonstrate the uptake and impact.

Jennifer Neff

CEO - Elemental Identity Working Groupe

Dr David Robinson is a consultant physician in geriatric medicine at St James' Hospital and a senior clinical lecturer at Trinity College, Dublin. He helped create the Local Asset Mapping Project (LAMP), a community-generated online directory of services to improve health and wellbeing through social prescribing.

David Robinson

Consultant Physician - St James Hospital

SPRING Social Prescribing Regional Manager NI Leanne works at Bogside and Brandywell Health Forum in Derry where she has a lead role in the operational and strategic development of the SPRING Social Prescribing project. Leanne has a background in health improvement and in implementing programmes that address health inequalities within community settings. She has been involved in social prescribing since 2012 when the first pilot projects were established in Ireland.

Leanne McBrearty

SPRING Social Prescribing Regional Manager NI

Tony is Regional Coordinator with the Healthy Living Centre Alliance, a network of health and well being organisations in the north. He Chairs the Northwest Integrated Care Partnership and, as such, has been involved in a number of NI Government Workstreams i.e. Expanding Community Development Practice and the new Integrated Care Service. A published writer of memoir, Tony is Chair of the Bloody Sunday Trust in Derry and is a Member of the NI National lottery Community Fund.

Tony Doherty

Regional Coordinator - Healthy Living Cntre Alliance

Communication and Networking working group. Susan believes in the importance of designing policy, practice and services around the evidence on social need. She was involved in the development of the first Waterford Social Prescribing Service. Susan values partnership working and with the development of Social Prescribing in Ireland she has witnessed the power of working together.

Susan Scully

Health Promotion Officer, HSE, Waterford.

Roisin Ryder is a Community Development Worker managing community programmes and the Dublin 8 Social Prescribing Service in Fatima Groups United Family Resource Centre based in Rialto

Roisin Ryder

Community Dev Worker Fatima Groups United FRC

A graduate in Psychology from Queen’s University Belfast, Sinéad also holds a Master’s Degree in Health Psychology from The University of the West of England. Sinéad has worked within the health and care arena in Northern Ireland For 18 Years, holding service improvement and partnership working posts within both the voluntary and statutory sector. The past 8 years has been spent in the field of integrated care working on the establishment of Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs) in the role of Regional Business manager for ICPs with the NI Health and Social Care Board. In the last number of years Social Prescribing as a tool for integrated care and to improve population health has also become a key part of my role.

Sinead Malone

Regional Business Manager - NI Health and Social Care Board

Emer McDaid works at the Bogside and Brandywell Health Forum as the new Regional Manager for SPRING Social Prescribing NI where she leads on strategic and operational development. Emer has a background in health development and improvement and has successfully led education and employment projects within the homeless sector that aim to break down barriers and tackle health, wellbeing and educational inequalities. Emer is passionate about promoting preventative measures for those that are vulnerable within communities, indicating her passion for her new and current role within the SPRING project.

Emer McDaid

Regional Manager - Bogside and Brandywell Health Forum

Deirdre Connolly is an Associate Professor, Discipline of Occupational Therapy, Trinity College, Dublin. She is a researcher in social prescribing evaluating the impact of social prescribing on health and well-being of individuals with chronic diseases, multimorbidity and people living with and beyond cancer. Contact Deirdre if you are interested in joining the AISPN Research & Evaluation working group [email protected]