Doctors move closer to unified plan for arts on prescription

Medical professionals in the North West of England have moved closer to making reading and singing on prescription a formal part of their healthcare offer.

27 National Health Service (NHS) organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside have committed to developing a social prescription plan, which one NHS official promises will be implemented across the region within one year.

This will initially focus on new and expectant mothers, using arts and health partnerships to give children the “best start” in life, and is hoped to form the basis for general social prescribing for all stages of life across the whole country.

“The current NHS focus is affordability,” said consultant Jo Ward, whose work on the benefits of arts and health partnerships was the catalyst for the regional commitment. “It currently gives you things to make you well instead of targeting behaviour which makes you unwell.

“We want to get creative health engagement right so that we can live good lives from day one. We want people to be able to manage their own care – a pill isn’t always the right answer.”

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