“This is medicine. It just doesn’t come in a box” – how social prescribing is changing lives across Wales

Every Saturday morning for the past six years, Richard Wheeler has been lacing up his trainers and heading to Aberbeeg parkrun – and he’s busy making sure as many people as possible join him.

“I was 50, a bit overweight, smoking, and I thought – let’s do something about it,” said Richard, speaking on Social Prescribing Day (March 26).

Social prescribing involves people being referred to community-based activities to improve their health and wellbeing, as an alternative to being prescribed medicines or other forms of clinical support.

An occupational therapist technician, who has run his local parkrun more than 100 times, Richard now recommends social prescribing to his own patients, his colleagues – and even his son and daughter, because he says the benefits aren’t only about physical health.

He added: “It builds routine – you’ve got to get up, you’ve got to be there, and they won’t wait for anyone. For some people, they only come out on a Saturday for the run. It stops isolation.

“My job is about enabling people to find their thing, and parkrun does that. It’s only 5k on a Saturday morning – but it’s not only 5k on a Saturday morning. This is medicine. It just doesn’t come in a box.”

Social prescribing uptake has increased in Wales in recent years, with parkrun being one of many activities at the forefront of this effort.

Whether people first speak to someone in health, social care, housing, education, a community organisation, or refer themselves, there is no wrong door.

Any practitioner or service can help guide people to find the right support.

It could range from walking groups and arts activities to benefits advice and befriending services.

Rather than reaching for a prescription pad, a GP, nurse, housing officer or other support worker can refer someone to an organisation where they can find support in the community to improve their physical or mental wellbeing.

About a fifth of GP consultations have been found to be primarily about social rather than medical problems. Through social prescribing, a person might be referred for loneliness, a bereavement, a long-term health condition, or financial worries.

Richard added: “It’s a community. I love the inclusivity of it all; you go there and someone is in their 80s, and someone’s 10, all these people, all different backgrounds – I just love it! It’s like a little family to be fair – well a huge family!”

All health boards in Wales are now either referring people and staff to parkrun, or planning to do so imminently, making Wales the first nation in the UK where every health board is engaged with parkrun as a prescribing tool.

Guidance published earlier this month as part of the National Framework for Social Prescribing (NFfSP) outlines what best practice looks like in terms of an accepted Welsh model of social prescribing, without dictating how this is delivered in different communities.

The document outlines a set of standards and values for social prescribing, and guidance on how to monitor and evaluate effectiveness, with the aim of establishing social prescribing as a recognised and credible approach to greater public well-being within health and care systems.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Isabel Oliver, who is also a keen runner, said: “Social prescribing is about recognising that good health is shaped not just in clinics, but by our communities, homes, work and relationships.

“Connecting people with community support and help to form healthy habits like running or giving up-smoking helps prevent illness, and supports people to live longer, healthier and fulfilling lives.

“On Social Prescribing Day, I want to celebrate the incredible work happening in communities right across Wales, and the organisations and practitioners who are making a real difference to people’s lives every day.”

parkrun National Coordinator for Wales, Chris Davies MBE, said: “parkrun brings people together, whether you walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate.

“Every week, we see first timers arrive feeling nervous and leave with smiles. It takes that first step. They then come back the following week to soak up more of that happy & healthy vibe.

“Getting outside, moving your body, and feeling part of a community can be genuinely life-changing.

“People across Wales are finding their way to parkrun thanks to signposting from healthcare professionals, voluntary organisations and through their own motivation. We’re here to welcome them.”