Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) have introduced Nature Prescriptions to Argyll and Bute, in partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Nature Prescriptions are an innovative way for healthcare professionals to prescribe nature as part of a patient’s treatment plan.
These Nature Prescriptions are supported by a leaflet and calendar of activity suggestions. Some of the activities involve exercising outdoors, but most are intended to help and inspire people to connect with nature in a way that’s meaningful to them – for example by listening to birdsong or watching a sunset.
Previous trials of Nature Prescriptions in Scotland demonstrated their effectiveness, with 74% of patients saying that they benefited from their prescription and 91% of prescribing health professionals saying they would continue to offer nature prescriptions.
The Nature Prescription leaflets and calendars are available to patients via participating GP surgeries.
Alison McGrory, NHS Highland and Argyll and Bute HSCP, Associate Director of Public Health said: "We live in such a beautiful part of the world, so I am delighted that Nature Prescriptions have come to Argyll and Bute and can’t wait to see how people in the area benefit from this project. Working in partnership with RSPB to introduce this green prescribing project will allow Argyll and Bute residents to connect to nature in an accessible way to gain improvements in their health and wellbeing."
Dr Katie Canavan, GP, Bute Medical Practice said: "I have been interested in the benefits of green prescribing for many years, and am very excited to be involved in introducing Nature Prescriptions to Argyll and Bute."
About Nature Prescriptions
RSPB Nature Prescriptions are a free, non-medical approach that will improve wellbeing by engaging with nature in a personal and meaningful way. The pilot for this green prescribing work found that patients and healthcare staff were overwhelmingly positive about the benefits to health and wellbeing of connecting with nature through a Nature Prescription. The HSCP has been working in partnership with RSPB to bring Nature Prescriptions to Argyll and Bute.
A growing body of evidence demonstrates direct links between exposure to nature and a range of health benefits including reductions in anxiety, fatigue and depression; enhanced immune function; and reduced mortality.
The RSPB's Nature Prescriptions Project was designed to support GPs and other medical practitioners in the formal prescription of nature, drawing on their medical authority and societal respect to both encourage and permit patients to connect with nature as a means of improving their health and wellbeing. Nature Prescriptions are not intended as a replacement for standard treatments; instead, they work in ways that are complimentary to traditional prescriptions and person-centred health care.
Nature Prescription Materials: The prescription itself takes the form of a leaflet and seasonal calendar of nature activities. The materials combine RSPB Scotland’s knowledge and understanding of local nature with the latest research on nature connection and how it can enhance health and wellbeing.
The materials offer suggestions, guidance, and encouragement, all of which give structure to the prescription and loosely formalise the activities in ways that make them special, enjoyable and therapeutic.
Nature Prescriptions is distinguished by its formal prescription from a medical practitioner (rather than “self-prescription”) and by its focus on developing personal, ideally reciprocal, connections and relationship with the natural world. Nature Prescriptions moves beyond simply being active outdoors and encourages emotional and meaningful engagements with nature that not only support health, but also have the potential to engender a personal investment in the protection of wildlife and environments.