People missing out on help, says report

Tens of thousands more people should be prescribed art classes, group gardening projects and nature walks on the NHS in a bid to improve physical and mental health, royal medical colleges have said.

A report from the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Royal College of Occupational Therapists says many people are missing out on “social prescribing”, even though it could help combat the mental health fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Social prescribing can include activities such as attending a new skills workshop, playing football in a local team, taking some form of education or training, or helping local elderly residents with their gardening.

This has been shown to decrease loneliness and improve mental and physical health.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 86% of women and 74% of men reported being lonely at the end of January, with the pandemic having made the problem worse than before.

Among the recommendations in the new report are for social prescribing to be available to all mental health service users in all community and inpatient settings, and via a GP.

At the moment, GPS can refer patients to link workers who know their local area and can recommend activities and workshops.

Dr Katherine Kennet, lead author of the report, said: “Social prescribing provides an exciting opportunity for mental health services as part of their ambition to secure the best outcomes for their patients, but it must be available as a treatment for everyone, regardless of where they live.”

It is unclear how many people currently access social prescribing.

Piers Morgan’s comments about the Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey have led to the highest number of complaints in the TV regulator’s history.

The episodes of ITV’S Good Morning Britain on March 8 and 9 sparked 57,121 complaints to Ofcom.

A statement from the regulator said: “We can confirm this issue has attracted the highest number of complaints since our reporting began.”

Morgan responded on Twitter, writing: “Only 57,000? I’ve had more people than that come up and congratulate me in the street for what I said.”

ITV announced Morgan had left the show on the evening of March 9, shortly after Ofcom said it had launched an investigation under its harm and offence rules after receiving more than 41,000 complaints in two days.

It later emerged Meghan also made a formal complaint to Ofcom about Morgan after he dismissed her account of suffering suicidal thoughts and experiencing racism at the hands of the royal family.

Morgan said on-air he “didn’t believe a word” of her interview with chat show host Winfrey when she laid bare her struggles.

Meghan raised concerns with the broadcaster about the effect Morgan’s comments may have on the issue of mental health generally and those trying to deal with their own problems – and not about his personal attack on herself.

Morgan’s comments were criticised by mental health charity Mind, which said: “It’s vital when people reach out for support or share their experiences of ill mental health, they are treated with dignity, respect and empathy.”