UK doctors prescribe walking and cycling in £12.7 million pilot

UK doctors will start prescribing walking and cycling to patients in 11 local council areas as part of a government trial.

The councils will get a total of £12.7 million (US$15 million), which will fund adult cycling training, free bike loans and walking groups.

Over the next three years the pilots will evaluate the impact of cycling and walking on an individual’s health.

This will be based on a set of criteria including reduced GP appointments and reliance on medication due to more physical activity.

“Prioritising active travel will benefit our nation’s health, so we welcome the introduction of this social prescribing pilot,” said Rachel White, Head of Public Affairs at walking and cycling charity Sustrans.

“If social prescribing is to be effective, then UK walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure must see continued investment and development, so the public feel safe and confident in fulfilling their GP’s advice to improve their health.”

The 11 pilot areas are: Bath and North East Somerset, Bradford, Cornwall, Cumbria, Doncaster, Gateshead, Leeds, Nottingham, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Staffordshire.

Gear change

The pilots were first promised in the government’s 2020 Gear Change plan. Improvements to infrastructure will also be introduced alongside the scheme.

Trudy Harrison, UK Walking and Cycling Minister, 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.”

The programme will run until 2025 and undergo continuous monitoring to evaluate its effectiveness.

Cycle for Health

In 2017, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and charity Cycling UK launched the Cycle for Health scheme which offers people with long-term health conditions a 12-week programme of cycle skills training.

More than 1,000 people across the region have since taken part, with the authority noting subsequent improvements in mental and physical health.

Figures from September 2018 to September 2019 showed a boost in mental wellbeing, with people reporting a 32 percent increase in confidence, a 29 percent increase in feeling close to others and a 26 percent increase in feeling relaxed.

At the start of the programme, 82 percent were not meeting the NHS physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes per week, with 31 percent doing less than 30 minutes.

Immediately following the programme, the proportion meeting physical activity guidelines rose to 73 percent with 61 percent reporting their fitness had increased.

Image:Waterford_Man (Flickr)