The head of the NHS has claimed that all General Practitioners (GPs) should be prescribing walking, museum visits, fishing and art classes - and other recreational activities - instead of a some medications. The NHS Chief Executive, Simon Stevens, says family doctors must stop automatically doling our drugs to sick Brits.
Instead, he wants every medic to consider community-based therapies to boost well-being. It comes as evidence suggests "social prescribing" can slash GP demand, as well as visits to A&E. Rolling out such schemes nationally would cost the NHS £100 million, according to experts. But they also claim referring patients to clubs and classes reduces reliance on medication and could save billions.
One in five patients visits their GP to discuss loneliness, anxiety,, depression - and other mental health issues - as well as housing and debt worries.
Mr Stevens says: "Rather than a "pill for every ill", social prescribing is a new way of helping people get better and stay healthy. It would be good to see all GPs considering whether their patients miight benefit." According to statistics, currently, only one fifth of GPs regularly refer sick Brits to social prescribing services.
In 2016, a record 1.1 billion prescriptions were dispensed, a seven per cent rise in three years. NHS data shows that anti-depressant demand has more than doubled in ten years to 64.7 million scripts recently. Bev Taylor, NHS England's Social Prescribing Program Leader, speaking at a UkActive meeting, said: "On average it is reducing GP consultations by about 28 per cent, and A&E attendance by an average of 24 per cent.
HMHB, as people know, have a partnership with Highbury Grange Medical Centre, where we organize and host a weekly health walk - with tremendous feedback from members, who actively say it helps their mental health.
No comments:
Post a Comment