Guernsey social prescribing: Doctors offer art classes

Doctors in Guernsey can now offer directions to therapeutic activities like art classes instead of medication.

Patients who could benefit will get free advice from the Bailiwick Social Prescribing (BSP) scheme to get non-clinical support.

It is being run as a trial until the end of 2022 with funding from the Guernsey Community Foundation and Guernsey States.

Dr Louise Brook said social prescribing could have a "huge positive impact".

"Problems are often complicated by things like loneliness, human sadness and distress through life events and those can't be helped with medication," said the GP.

BSP has more than 50 local organisations on the scheme including Guernsey Conservation Volunteers and Arts for Impact which promotes wellbeing through art.

In England it is thought that a significant number of appointments at surgeries are not directly related to medical conditions.

So GPs are being given permission to prescribe patients social activities such as dance classes.

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