THE CULTURE CURE

Social prescribing is on the rise. Kellie Gillespie-Wright investigates why engaging with the arts could hold the key to your long-term health and happiness

Picture this: you’re having trouble sleeping or your digestive system is playing up, so you go to your GP expecting another course of pills. But, instead, you walk away with a ticket to the ballet or instructions to join a choir.

This is social prescribing, and it’s taking off in a big way, with hundreds of general practices in England regularly referring their patients to take part in cultural activities, often with a focus on prevention, early intervention, and the management of long-term ailments.

‘Many things that affect our health can’t be treated by medicine alone. For example, loneliness, isolation or stress,’ says Sunita Pandya, chief operating officer at the National Academy for Social Prescribing. ‘Social prescribing connects people to non-medical support, to address these issues and other unmet needs.’

It’s not surprising that social prescribing is gaining popularity – the latest data from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) shows that the UK lost 17 million working days to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2021-2022, and an estimated one in five GP visits is made for psychosocial not medical reasons, which could benefit from a more holistic approach.

'Social prescribing can help change the circumstances that can make people unwell. It can empower people to manage existing health problems, and it can help people to connect and to grow in confidence,’ says Pandya.