What Is Social Prescribing? (And Where Sauna Fits In)
It’s one of the questions we get asked most, usually at the front desk while someone’s hunting for a lost flip-flop. So here’s the proper answer.
Social Prescribing, Explained
Social prescribing recognises that social, economic, and environmental factors shape health, so it looks at a person’s needs as a whole and supports them to take more control of their health.
Sometimes the right support means spending time with others, finding a sense of belonging or getting help with everyday challenges. Social prescribing helps make those connections. Your GP or another local service can refer you to a link worker, who takes time to understand what matters to you and helps you find support in your community. That might be a walking group, a gardening project, debt advice or a sauna.
Social prescribing is the NHS’s way of recognising that. Your GP or another local service can refer you to a social prescribing link worker. They take time to get to know you and what matters to you, then help you make a plan that connects you with things nearby that might help. That could be a walking group, a gardening project, debt advice or a sauna. (and remove this)
NHS England says social prescribing works especially well for people who:
Live with one or more long-term conditions
Need support with low-level mental health issues
Feel lonely or isolated
Have complex social needs affecting their wellbeing
Where We Come In
Community Sauna Baths started in a car park in Hackney Wick with one aim: to make sauna and cold plunge affordable and accessible to everyone in London. Social prescribing is one of the biggest ways we do that.
We run the UK’s first social prescribing sauna programme, working with GPs, social prescribers and community organisations. People come to us after living through trauma, displacement, chronic illness and isolation. So far, CSB has welcomed 575 socially prescribed bathers and given away 5,750 free sauna sessions, all funded by us.
What’s Included in Social Prescribing
Everyone referred to us gets:
10 free sauna sessions
Swimwear, if you don’t have any
Companion tickets, so you can bring someone along
Help with booking
A cup of tea when you arrive
Walking into a new place on your own can feel like a lot. That’s why we also run free weekly community group sessions with partner charities. More than 3,120 people have come along to these, with familiar faces on the bench beside them.
What the Research Says
An independent evaluation led by Rachael McGrath with Freya Gascoyne followed 63 people through a ten-week sauna prescription across four of our sites. They found improvements across every measure, with the biggest changes for people who completed the full programme.
Our 2025 survey of over 3,000 bathers found that 88% said sauna improves their mood and 87% said it helps them feel a sense of belonging.
Here’s how a few socially prescribed bathers have described it:
“This is the first place I have found where I can get a healthy natural high and make friends. It’s become a lifeline for me.”
“I feel like I am finding a community here and I am glad it is close to me.”
You can read Fraser, Mindy, Amarjit and Isabel’s stories, and the full evaluation report, on our impact page.
How to Get Referred
If you think social prescribing could help, ask your GP surgery about speaking to a social prescribing link worker. If you already have one, ask them about referring you to us.
Link workers, social prescribers and charities can get in touch with Polly, our social prescribing and outreach facilitator, to find out more.
And if you’d just like to come and sauna with us, you can book your session at any of our sites.
See you in the sauna 💙
The Community Sauna Baths Team
