Pottery on prescription

It’s time to get in touch with your creative side as, according to a new report*, art classes, pottery and poetry could boost wellbeing and save the NHS money. It’s thought that such activities could aid mental and physical health and lower GP consultation rates and hospital admissions. One study looked at the Artlift programme in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, where people suffering from a range of conditions, including chronic pain, depression and stroke, were sent on an eight-week course with artists, poets and ceramicists. Afterwards, consultation rates dropped by 37 per cent and admissions by 27 per cent.