Doctors will send almost one million NHS patients for singing, gardening or art classes under a £5million Government scheme.
Ministers will launch the National Academy for Social Prescribing to co-ordinate the wider roll-out of arts, sport and leisure activities for patients across the country.
Such ‘social prescribing’ has been shown to help people with illnesses including depression, loneliness and heart disease.
Health chiefs say it is a better option than handing out tablets and that it saves the NHS money in the long run.
The Academy has been developed by the Department of Health and NHS in partnership with Sport England and Arts Council England.
Ministers will launch the National Academy for Social Prescribing to co-ordinate the wider roll-out of arts, sport and leisure activities for patients across the country
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he wants every patient in the country to be able to access art and singing classes on the NHS as easily as they can receive medical care or prescription pills.
He said: ‘This Academy is much more important than any one individual. It’s about all of us in health, arts, culture, sport, communities coming together around one simple principle: that prevention is better than cure.
‘Social prescribing is a huge part of this. There are thousands of people up and down the country right now who are already benefiting from activities like reading circles, choir groups and walking football.
‘The National Academy for Social Prescribing will act as a catalyst to bring together the excellent work already being done across the NHS and beyond, building on our NHS Long Term Plan’s ambition to get over 2.5million more people benefiting from personalised care within the next five years.’
The NHS has already committed to refer at least 900,000 people for social prescribing by 2025 and more than 60 per cent of Clinical Commissioning Groups already offer such schemes.
In Gloucestershire, for example, more than 700 patients this year have benefited from an ‘Arts on Prescription’ scheme.
People with lung conditions have been sent to singing lessons, children with diabetes have been given circus and dance prescriptions, and children with epilepsy have received film and photography classes.
An overview of research two years ago found that social-prescribing schemes could help to cut A&E visits by a quarter while also reducing hospital admissions and GP appointments.
The University of Westminster research concluded that every £1 spent on social prescribing could save £2.30 by improving health and helping people back to work.
The NHS is also hiring 1,000 ‘social prescribers’ to refer patients to art classes and ballroom dancing lessons.
Working from GP surgeries, they will help patients tackle such ‘scourges of modern life’ as loneliness, alcoholism and depression.
The new Academy will be led by Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, who will step down from her current post as Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners in November.
She said: ‘Social prescribing has always been so close to my heart as a practicing GP. It’s what good GPs have always done in terms of getting the best help and support for our patients beyond the medicines we also provide them with.
‘I’m looking forward to starting work with colleagues from so many sectors to bring social prescribing into the mainstream, to train and educate social prescribers of the future and to establish a great evidence base and raise the profile of this fantastic initiative.’
The Academy will work with local councils and GPs to share best practice, develop training and accreditation and improve the evidence base for social prescribing.
Social prescribing involves any activity or support service ranging from history classes, chess clubs, debt counselling advice or volunteering schemes.
Arts Council England have agreed to invest £125,000 per year for the first two years of the Academy.
Darren Henley, chief executive of Arts Council England: ‘Arts and cultural engagement, and being creative more generally, can positively impact your wellbeing – whether it’s the enjoyment of seeing a performance, the confidence that comes from singing or dancing, or as an antidote to isolation by connecting with others.
‘There’s also a strong and ever-growing body of evidence showing the significant benefits that arts-based activity can have on specific health conditions; both mental and physical.’
Sport England chief executive, Tim Hollingsworth said: ‘Being regularly active has the potential to transform people’s health and wellbeing – supporting people to live happier, healthier lives.
‘It can help prevent or manage medical conditions; reduce anxiety, stress or depression; improve a person’s confidence or self-esteem or bring people together.’