It’s been listed as one of the top ten high-impact strategies and the Secretary of State said that social prescribing would become an indispensable part of a GP’s work. But, as more of us become aware of its implications for health and well-being, the more the discussions on social prescribing look set to escalate.
For hard-working GP’s, social prescribing seems to be a natural step on the way to bringing local, non-medical services to bear on patients’ lives. As GP’s gear up to employ Link Workers, whose jobs it will be to match patient needs to a range of non-medical services, will the possibility of accessing green care on prescription become a reality, or are there barriers still to be overcome?
Countrymen UK is part of the wider green care movement, which supports the therapeutic value of farms, gardens and other outdoor environments. But will the implementation of social prescribing systems recognise the availability of organisations such as Countrymen UK and the countrymen clubs it supports? Will commissioners and link workers tap into proven methods of non-medical, green care approaches to conditions such as Dementia, Parkinson’s, PTSD, loneliness and isolation to name just a few?