Prescription for a healthier life may be empowerment

SAM VOLPE on a new way to keep people healthy that doesn’t necessarily involve pills or potions

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A NEWCASTLE team that’s the biggest of its kind in the North East is working across the city to support people here to “live happier and healthier lives”.

Social prescribing is a growing phenomenon - and the next time you visit your GP you may well see that in the surgery a social prescriber is on hand to help with things that may not be medical issues, but which nonetheless have an impact on your health. That might mean you face housing problems and need a hand solving them - or perhaps you need a helping hand to navigate the support available for your mental health.

In Newcastle, a 29-strong team of these people work as part of Newcastle GP Services (NGPS) at practices across the city. Social prescribing manager Jo Swift told how a long history of working to build community connections - she even spent time helping to run a charity building schools for refugees in Thailand - lent itself to working as part of a collaborative team in the city.