Doctor’s orders: Can I get my sport on prescription?
If you've been watching the UK news lately you could be forgiven if you were starting to think that you can get everything on prescription these days. First off the environment minister announced a £4m pilot for so-called 'green prescribing' which prescribes time spent outdoors to improve a range of physical and mental health conditions (1). Then the Prime Minister announced that cycling would be available on prescription (2), with GP surgeries potentially participating in bike schemes to make cycling equipment more accessible and affordable. Now it seems even reading is available on prescription, through the national scheme Reading Well, which offers support through both non-fiction titles and mood-boosting fiction (3).
In fact all of these things are part of the wider movement of social prescribing, which involves health professionals referring people into other, non-medical types of support, including physical activity, which might help them to improve their health and wellbeing. Social prescribing, in various forms, has been around for many years and is also widely used in a variety of guises in other countries around the world, such as New Zealand. In early 2019 the UK government had announced a major investment to expand social prescribing in the UK (4) which prompted a period of significant growth to existing schemes and creation of new ones. The more recent announcements however, come at time when social prescribing has had to adapt rapidly and prescribers have stepped up to play a vital role in coordinating efforts to support vulnerable people, including those shielding, throughout the pandemic (5). Just this week the government committed a further £5 million for social prescribing to tackle the impact of Covid-19 (6).
In recent months, whilst community gatherings have not been possible, some physical activities may have played a lesser role in the social prescriber's toolkit; but as restrictions gradually ease and community get togethers become a reality once again there is a renewed opportunity for physical activity to play its part. We are at a point when the nation is more aware of its health than ever before and physical activity has been a vital lifeline for many, particularly during the full lockdown phase, when the only legitimate reasons to leave your home were to undertake essential work, obtain essential household or medical supplies and to exercise.
Data from Sport England (7) showed that activity levels overall held up pretty well during the first couple of months of lockdown with around half of people saying they had found a new way to be active. However stubborn inequalities for women, older people, those from BAME backgrounds and people with disabilities and long term health conditions were exacerbated as these groups struggled most to get active during lockdown. As restrictions were lifted in June the data also showed a more general drop in activity levels.
But with a government backed campaign encouraging healthier habits (8) including getting the nation moving more, this is a huge moment for the physical activity sector and social prescribing presents a significant opportunity. It is a great way to reach more vulnerable audiences who would like to bring more activity into their day-to-day lives but perhaps don't know where to go or feel that existing opportunities may not be suitable for them.
Earlier this year, in a time before terms like social distancing and self-isolation had become part of our everyday conversation, Proper Active were doing some research to find out more about what social prescribing looked like in practice. Whilst we are learning all the time, we were keen to share what we had learned so far to encourage more physical activity providers to get involved, so we put together a short introductory guide.
You can download the guide here which we invite you to share with others who you think would find it of value.
To continue the sharing of learning please also get in touch to share your own experiences of physical activity and social prescribing.
Alternatively if you're considering how to get involved in social prescribing for the first time and you need some support then Proper Active may be able to help.
Drop us a line on info@properactive.co.uk
(3) https://reading-well.org.uk
(4) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-46999922
(5) https://www.nhsconfed.org/blog/2020/06/how-social-prescribing-adapted-during-the-covid19-pandemic
(6) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/5-million-for-social-prescribing-to-tackle-the-impact-of-covid-19?
