We care but we’re not carers!

New research findings from the School of Health Sciences at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, conclude that Mens Sheds are a caring organisation. Nevertheless, their members are not trained as professional carers, and men come to the Shed for their own personal reasons. The research mentions that Mens Sheds are concerned about the potential additional responsibilities associated with formal referrals. However, they are keen to encourage the development of relationships and local-level understanding of the essence of Mens Sheds to help enable social prescribing. This research also highlights that as various forms of social prescribing emerge and grow nationally and internationally, one of the critical components of social prescribing is building collaborative working relationships between voluntary and community organisations to develop a mutually beneficial approach and to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of social prescribing within community health.

You can read the full report here: We care but we’re not carers: perceptions and experiences of social prescribing in a UK national community organisation (allirelandsocialprescribing.ie)