Best Software for Social Prescribing Link Workers in the UK (2026)

Social prescribing has grown from a niche pilot programme to a core part of NHS primary care. An estimated 1.3 million people were referred to social prescribing by their GP in 2023 alone, exceeding the NHS Long Term Plan target of 900,000 by up to 52% (The Lancet Public Health, 2025). With that growth comes a pressing need for software that actually works for the people doing the job: link workers.

TL;DR: Link workers need software that handles referrals from GPs, tracks cases, finds community services, measures wellbeing outcomes (ONS-4, WEMWBS), and generates reports for PCNs and ICBs. The main platforms in the UK are Plinth, Elemental (Access Group), Joy, Charitylog, and Lamplight. We compare all five on the features that matter most, with a detailed comparison table below.

Who this is for: Social prescribing link workers, PCN managers, ICB commissioners, VCSE organisations delivering social prescribing services, and anyone evaluating software for a social prescribing team.

How Social Prescribing Works in England

Social prescribing connects people to community-based activities and support to improve their health and wellbeing. The model typically runs through Primary Care Networks (PCNs), where a GP or other healthcare professional identifies a patient whose needs are partly or wholly non-medical — loneliness, debt, housing problems, low confidence — and refers them to a social prescribing link worker.

The link worker then meets the patient, understands their situation through a "what matters to you?" conversation, and connects them with appropriate community services: anything from walking groups and art classes to debt advice and befriending schemes.

There are now more than 3,500 social prescribing link workers in post across England, with NHS workforce plans targeting 6,500 by the end of the decade and 9,000 by 2036/37 (NHS England; NASP, 2025). The evidence for impact is strong: a 2025 study in the British Journal of General Practice found that patients referred to social prescribing subsequently had 1.13 fewer GP appointments per quarter, with a total of 244,626 freed-up GP appointments linked to social prescribing referrals nationally (BJGP, 2025).

What Link Workers Actually Need from Software

Not all case management systems are built with link workers in mind. Social prescribing has specific workflow requirements that generic charity CRMs often handle poorly. Here is what matters most.

Referral Management

Link workers receive referrals from GPs, self-referrals, and referrals from other agencies. The software needs to accept referrals electronically — ideally integrated with clinical systems like EMIS and SystmOne — and make it simple to triage, accept, and track each one. A clunky referral process means patients fall through the gaps.

Service Directory

Finding the right community service for each person is the core of the job. Link workers need a searchable, up-to-date directory of local services — not a static spreadsheet that was last updated six months ago. Plinth's AI Service Directory addresses this by using natural language matching to help link workers find relevant services based on a person's needs, even when they do not know the exact name or category.

Case Tracking and Notes

Each client may require multiple sessions and onward referrals over weeks or months. The software must support case notes, appointment scheduling, and a clear timeline of interactions. AI Case Notes can significantly reduce the administrative burden, which matters given that the NASP 2025 link worker survey found the workforce is highly motivated but stretched across multiple GP surgeries (NASP, 2025).

Outcome Measurement

NHS England's Social Prescribing Common Outcomes Framework recommends that all social prescribing services use the ONS-4 wellbeing questions (life satisfaction, happiness, anxiety, and worthwhileness) as a minimum, alongside the patient activation measure (PAM) (NHS England). Many services also use the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS). Software should make it easy to collect these at the start and end of each case, and calculate change scores automatically. Plinth's Surveys feature supports validated outcome measures out of the box.

Reporting to PCNs and ICBs

Link workers and their managers need to report activity and outcomes to PCN leads and ICB commissioners. This means dashboards, exportable reports, and the ability to aggregate data across multiple GP surgeries or service areas. Impact Reporting should be straightforward, not a manual spreadsheet exercise.

Partner and Stakeholder Management

Social prescribing sits at the intersection of primary care and the voluntary sector. Link workers manage relationships with GP surgeries, PCN teams, and dozens of community organisations. A Partner CRM helps track these relationships, record interactions, and ensure nothing slips.

Platform Comparison: Plinth vs Elemental vs Joy vs Charitylog vs Lamplight

The UK social prescribing software market has a small number of established players and some newer entrants. Below is a comparison of the five most commonly used platforms.

Plinth

Plinth is a purpose-built platform for social prescribing and community-facing organisations. Its strongest differentiator is the AI Service Directory, which uses natural language understanding to match people's needs to relevant community services — a significant advantage over static directory listings. The AI Case Notes feature reduces administrative time by generating structured notes from conversations. Case Management covers the full referral-to-outcome workflow, and the Partner CRM is particularly useful for link workers who manage relationships across multiple GP surgeries, PCN teams, and community organisations. Bookings and Surveys are built in, avoiding the need for separate tools.

Elemental (Access Group)

Elemental is currently the most widely adopted social prescribing platform in the UK, used across more than 20 million patients and involving over 4,400 social prescribers (Access Elemental). Its core strength is deep integration with NHS clinical systems — EMIS, SystmOne, and Vision — which allows GPs to make referrals without leaving their clinical workflow. The analytics module provides ROI dashboards and data exports for commissioners. Elemental was acquired by the Access Group and sits within their broader health and social care portfolio. Pricing is not publicly listed and typically requires a sales conversation.

Joy

Joy serves over 18 million patients and residents across the UK, spanning more than 2,000 organisations (Joy). Its GP app sits on top of existing clinical systems (including EPIC, RIO, and Cerner), making referrals easy for clinicians. The case management system is well-regarded by link workers for day-to-day caseload management. Joy's marketplace provides an auto-updating directory of local services. The platform has strong analytics capabilities for measuring return on investment and identifying health inequalities.

One in five GP appointments in England are for social rather than medical reasons (NASP, 2024). Research from Tameside and Glossop found a 42% reduction in GP appointments among patients who accessed social prescribing, while a Kent study found up to a 23% reduction in A&E attendances (NASP, 2024). Whatever software you choose, the data it captures will increasingly be used to demonstrate these kinds of savings.

Charitylog

Charitylog is a general-purpose charity CRM used by around 1,000 charities across the UK (Charitylog). It offers solid client management, referral tracking, and reporting capabilities. However, it is not specifically designed for social prescribing and lacks features like an integrated service directory, GP system integration, and pre-built wellbeing outcome measures. Organisations already using Charitylog for other services sometimes extend it to social prescribing, but this typically requires manual configuration of outcome forms and reporting templates.

Lamplight

Lamplight has supported charities for over 20 years and offers case management with support for one-to-one sessions, group work, and drop-ins (Lamplight). It includes referral tracking and supports a range of outcome measures including Core 10, PHQ-9, and Outcome Stars, though ONS-4 and WEMWBS may require custom setup. Like Charitylog, it is a capable generic CRM but lacks the social prescribing-specific workflow features — service directory, GP integration, and commissioner-ready dashboards — that purpose-built platforms provide. Monthly costs typically run at around £20–40 per team member.

How to Choose the Right Platform

The best software for your social prescribing service depends on your context. Here are the key questions to ask.

Are you a PCN or ICB commissioning a service? If you need deep NHS clinical system integration and are working at scale across multiple practices, Elemental and Joy have the most mature GP system integrations. Plinth offers referral management and is a strong choice if AI-powered service matching and partner relationship management are priorities.

Are you a VCSE organisation delivering social prescribing? If you are a voluntary sector organisation contracted to deliver social prescribing, you need software that handles the full workflow from referral to outcome reporting. Plinth, Elemental, and Joy all cover this. If you already use Charitylog or Lamplight for other services, you may prefer to extend your existing system, though you will likely sacrifice some social prescribing-specific features.

Do your link workers cover multiple surgeries? Many link workers are peripatetic, covering several GP practices. Mobile-friendly software with strong case management and booking capabilities is essential. A Partner CRM that tracks your relationships with each surgery and PCN helps avoid the chaos of managing it all in email.

How important is the service directory? If your link workers spend significant time searching for appropriate community services, an AI-powered directory is a major time-saver. Plinth's AI Service Directory is particularly strong here, using natural language understanding rather than simple keyword matching.

The social prescribing workforce is growing rapidly. Service refusal rates declined from 22% to 12% between 2019 and 2023, and representation from deprived populations increased from 23% to 42% in the same period (The Lancet Public Health, 2025). As the service matures and referral volumes increase, the demands on software will only grow.

Frequently Asked Questions

What outcome measures should social prescribing software support?

At a minimum, the ONS-4 personal wellbeing questions (life satisfaction, worthwhileness, happiness yesterday, and anxiety yesterday), as recommended by NHS England's Social Prescribing Common Outcomes Framework. Many services also collect WEMWBS scores and patient activation measures. Good software should have these pre-built rather than requiring manual form creation. Plinth's Surveys feature includes validated outcome measures ready to use.

Does social prescribing software need to integrate with GP clinical systems?

Integration with systems like EMIS and SystmOne is valuable because it allows GPs to make referrals without leaving their workflow, and it gives practices visibility of what happened after the referral. However, it is not always essential — many services work effectively with referral forms, email, or secure web portals. If clinical system integration is a hard requirement, Elemental has the deepest integrations. Joy offers an overlay app that sits on top of multiple clinical systems.

Can generic charity CRMs be used for social prescribing?

Yes, platforms like Charitylog and Lamplight can be configured for social prescribing. However, they typically lack purpose-built features such as service directories, GP integrations, pre-configured wellbeing outcome measures, and commissioner-ready reporting dashboards. If your organisation already uses one of these systems, extending it for social prescribing avoids the cost of a new platform but may create more manual work and less polished reporting.

How much does social prescribing software cost?

Pricing varies significantly. Charitylog and Lamplight typically charge £20–40 per user per month. Elemental and Joy do not publish pricing and usually require a conversation with their sales teams, as costs depend on the scale of the deployment (number of practices, users, and population covered). Plinth offers transparent pricing for social prescribing teams — get in touch for current rates. When comparing costs, factor in the time saved on administration, service searching, and manual report generation.

What is the difference between a service directory and a referral system?

A service directory helps link workers find appropriate community services for their clients. A referral system manages the process of sending and receiving referrals between organisations or from GP practices to link workers. Most social prescribing platforms include both, but the quality varies considerably. A static directory that is rarely updated creates more work than it saves. Plinth's AI Service Directory combines intelligent search with live service data to address this problem.

Recommended Next Pages

• How AI Service Directories Help People Find the Right Support
• AI Case Notes vs Manual Notes: What the Evidence Shows
• AI CRM for Charities
• AI Survey Analysis for Charities

Plinth is a software platform for social prescribing link workers and community organisations. Learn more about Case Management, AI Case Notes, Partner CRM, Bookings, Surveys, Impact Reporting, and AI Service Directory.