VISIT YOUR GP ABOUT AN AILMENT and you may be surprised if the prescription he or she issues turns out to be for walking, golfing or swimming rather than cholesterollowering drugs or antidepressants. If back pain has been troubling you, the advice might be to join a gym or to take up tai chi; if you’re struggling with anxiety or low mood, a regular run could well be the recommended tonic.
This new approach is part of health secretary Matt Hancock’s plans to transform the NHS. As an advocate of what he calls ‘social prescribing’, the Minister suggests healthy activities – from gardening and yoga to running and tennis – are ‘more effective than medicines for some people’. He claims a move towards a more active lifestyle could offset the need for drugs altogether in some cases. As a result, activities as diverse as boxing, Bollywood dancing, meditation and mindfulness are being prescribed by GPs for patients who might previously have been given a prescription for long-term, costly medication.