Elizabeth Archer learns about the community groups aiming to tackle th e country’s health crisis Should you ask your GP for a ‘social’ prescription?
As Christine Cole belted out the lyrics to her favourite song, a huge smile spread across her face. She was finally back at her weekly choir meeting, after months of online sessions only during lockdown.
But this isn’t any choir – it’s a special singing group, Shared Harmonies, for people with respiratory problems. For Christine, who has pulmonary fibrosis, it’s a lifeline.
“It’s brilliant,” says Christine, 83, a retired secretary who lives in Drighlington, West Yorks, with her husband David, 84.
“You meet new people. You make friends and are able to talk to people who really understand your problems.”
Until now, most people with conditions like pulmonary fibrosis had to find such support groups themselves by searching online or contacting charities.
But in 2019, the NHS committed to hiring 1,000 special coordinators by March 2021 – helping doctors prescribe activities like gardening groups, community choirs and fitness classes.
Now, the Government hopes community groups can help tackle the country’s health and wellbeing crisis in the wake of the pandemic.
Emma Baylin, a former NHS volunteer coordinator, welcomes the changes.
“It’s positive the NHS sees the value in social prescribing. It can help with early intervention and prevention for a host of wellbeing and health issues,” she says.
“I’ve seen first-hand people who have reduced their dependence on NHS services through accessing community groups.”
Nicola Harker, a life coach and former NHS GP (nicolaharkercoaching.com), agrees.
While working as a GP, she once took the unusual decision to prescribe poetry writing to a patient who had suffered a stroke and was struggling to express himself verbally.
“It’s hugely valuable. This particular patient was very frustrated but traditional
medication wouldn’t have been able to help. It almost brought me to tears to see how his life changed because he had a new vocation and he solved his communication difficulties,” she says. “While we have to be realistic that social prescribing can’t patch over the funding gaps in the NHS, it can certainly help.
“I’d like to see people on the waiting list for mental health services being connected with community projects in the meantime, or people going through cancer treatment finding groups which allow them to express their experiences.”
Christine was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2010 after a persistent cough and breathlessness. At the time, she was given from three to five years to live.
“It was devastating, but doctors have since found a cause for my condition and I’m still here 11 years later,” she says.
She found out about Shared Harmonies online, and discovered a class a few miles away in Leeds.
“We start by doing relaxation exercises, before deep breathing and stretching. Then we sing two or three simple, short songs with harmonies.
“Sometimes we get things wrong and have a few laughs. I’ve made great friends over the years and couldn’t wait to get back to meeting in person after lockdown.”
While Christine and her husband
It’s so comforting knowing groups like this are out there
were lucky enough to find lots of local support groups online, she agrees more people would find groups if doctors signposted patients to them.
“I don’t know what I’d do without them,” she says. “I have friends locally who I can talk to but it’s not the same as speaking to someone who really understands what you’re going through.”
Christine goes for regular breathing tests and says singing every week has improved her lung function by seven per cent. But it’s the emotional support she values most. “It’s so comforting knowing there are groups like this out there, and I think it’s great the NHS is going to start prescribing community classes more.”
Avril Clerkson, who teaches fitness classes for people with limited mobility, is also thrilled about the NHS proposals.
“People often think they won’t be able to exercise after surgery or being
diagnosed with an illness, but we offer a class anybody can do regardless of mobility,” says Avril, 61, who lives in Addiewell, West Lothian, with husband Steven, 59. She found out about Paracise exercise classes after being diagnosed with breast cancer during a routine mammogram. She had a lumpectomy and some of her lymph nodes were removed, meaning she had limited movement in her left side and suffered from lymphedema, a fluid build-up in the body.
“The diagnosis was a horrible shock and I’d always been very active so it was great to find a class I could still do after my surgery.”
Since starting the classes, she has regained full movement in her left side and the swelling in her left arm is greatly reduced. Now she teaches Paracise classes and has seen the benefits for others too.
In lockdown, she could be found bouncing around in her kitchen teaching classes on Facebook.
“A lot of people were saying they lived alone and were missing the company Paracise brings,” she says. “So I kept the groups going online and it was a godsend for a lot of people.”
The Scottish health service already refers people to her classes for a range of health conditions, including arthritis, fibromyalgia and stroke.
And she is glad social prescribing is becoming more widespread.
“Classes like this can help prevent people having falls at home, help faster recovery from surgery, and can prevent some people needing mental health services, which eases the NHS burden.”
Aishah Iqbal has psoriasis and says community groups helped her cope with the condition in lockdown.
“I’ve had it for 15 years. It started during my GCSES from stress and has impacted me at different points in my life,” says Aishah, 29, a paediatric doctor from Leicester.
“It gets really itchy and has an impact on my ability to concentrate in the day and I don’t get much sleep at night so it’s a horrible cycle and hits my confidence.”
During lockdown she suffered a particularly bad flare-up and turned to a community support group she found through Facebook.
“When I wasn’t really getting much social interaction, I found it harder to fight the sad feelings brought on by my condition.
“But having people around me who were going through something similar made me realise I wasn’t alone.”
Aishah believes social prescribing can be a lifeline. “Stress and anxiety can make long-term health conditions much worse, so while medication can help, emotional support is important too. While the NHS is great, there are limits to what it can provide, so putting people in touch with community groups is a great idea.”
Classes like this can help recovery from surgery