GPs in 11 areas of the country will soon be able to prescribe walking, wheeling and cycling as part of a nationwide trial to help people’s mental and physical health under a new £12.7m Government pilot.
The pilots, first promised in the Government’s 2020 Gear Change plan, aims to reduce the number of GP appointments and people’s reliance on medication.
The funding will go towards ‘several pilot projects’ in each location, the announcement said, including:
- adult cycle training
- free bike loans
- walking groups
- all-ability cycling ‘taster’ days
- walking and cycling mental health groups
- ‘wheeling’, for users of wheelchairs and mobility scooters
The pilots will kick off later this year and run until 2025 in Bath and North East Somerset, Bradford, Cornwall, Cumbria, Doncaster, Gateshead, Leeds, Nottingham, Plymouth, Suffolk and Staffordshire.
Walking and cycling minister Trudy Harrison, said: ’Walking and cycling has so many benefits – from improving air quality in our communities to reducing congestion on our busiest streets.
‘It also has an enormous positive impact on physical and mental health, which is why we have funded these projects which will get people across the country moving and ease the burden on our NHS.’
Minister for Health, Maria Caulfield, said: “Getting active is hugely beneficial for both our mental and physical health, helping reduce stress and ward off other illness such as heart disease and obesity. The UK is leading the way in embedding social prescribing in our NHS and communities across the country.”
