Over 100 professionals now able to deliver prescriptions that use nature to support mental wellbeing.
Healthcare professionals are using nature to tackle a range of mental health issues in the West Midlands, thanks to a new project supported by players of People's Postcode Lottery.
The RSPB’s Nature Prescriptions has been running since 2018. However, the newly launched West Midlands scheme is the first time it’s been delivered across such a large urban area. Funds raised by players of People's Postcode Lottery have been critical to enable the scheme to expand. It comes alongside a similar scheme in Cardiff, the site of the first Nature Prescriptions work in Wales.
As we approach World Mental Health Day, we’re proud to recognise that the scheme has already reached some impressive milestones. More than 100 practitioners have now been trained and given enough resources to help their first 1,000 patients.
The RSPB’s Nature Prescriptions give GPs and other healthcare practitioners the knowledge and resources to encourage patients to use nature in a range of ways.
Prescription discussions are tailored to each individual to help them improve their physical and mental wellbeing. The prescription focuses on gaining benefits from nature wherever you are and whatever your circumstances. For example, one of the latest pieces of work has looked at ways of helping people who can’t easily leave their homes.
The project differs from other ‘green’ or social prescribing schemes as it’s all about providing specialist training for GPs and healthcare specialists. This enables them to lead conversations with patients about how to connect to nature, rather than refer them to other services. These nature connections are offered alongside any other forms of care or treatment that may be needed.
Nature Prescriptions were originally trialled in Scotland, a collaboration between RSPB Scotland and NHS Shetland. A total of 74% of patients said they’d benefited from their prescription. Meanwhile 91% of prescribing healthcare professionals said they’d continue to offer RSPB Nature Prescriptions.
The West Midlands project has also trialled some exciting new approaches. These include offering prescriptions in group settings, and to people who are house-bound.
A new RSPB Nature Prescriptions course has also been developed. It’s run in Recovery Colleges at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, and the Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Courses are also running at centres in Birmingham, Walsall and Wolverhampton. These centres offer a range of free educational courses to help people better understand and manage their mental health needs.
Jayne Ison, 53, from Edgbaston, Birmingham has used nature to help with her diagnoses of anxiety, depression and ADHD. She has also been involved in helping others access RSPB Nature Prescriptions and is an Expert by Experience (EBE) at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust Recovery College for All.
“I was lucky. I had a GP who recognised how good it would be for me to use nature to help me,” said Jayne. “I know not everyone has this and it’s so important. I think a healthcare professional giving you ‘permission’ to enjoy nature really emphasises how important it is.
“So, when I came across the work of RSPB Nature Prescriptions through the Recovery College, I really wanted to be involved and find ways to help ensure more and more people get access to this service.
I was diagnosed later in life with ADHD. I hadn’t had my own garden or outside space for many years, and I can’t tell you how much it helped me when I got my first ever allotment earlier this year. I feel my noisy brain quieten down literally after 10 minutes of arriving there.
“I have found a positive hyper focus being there – I will go for an hour and end up spending four. But I’m meeting new like-minded 'outside' people and it’s a real community. I would say almost half the people have told me that they have suffered with bad mental health until they started getting outside. It’s an amazing way to get back to nature – low cost, high benefit medication for some.”
Alexis Johnson leads the RSPB Nature Prescription project in the West Midlands. She has been delighted to see so many healthcare professionals keen to get involved and is thrilled that 100 people have been trained already.
Our other RSPB Nature Prescriptions work has focused on more rural areas, where people could more easily access nature, so it’s been amazing to develop our work in a more urban setting, and to show people the benefits of connecting people with nature wherever you are.
“You don’t need to be in a nature reserve or a park or even outdoors to connect with nature to help your wellbeing, and with 100 healthcare professionals now trained to deliver this work, and 1,000 booklets ready and waiting, I’m looking forward to seeing more, and more diverse, people take advantage of Nature Prescriptions in the future.”
Welcoming the project, People's Postcode Lottery Head of Charities, Laura Chow, said:
"You might think that in order to get the benefits of being in nature that you need to be outdoors in the countryside or in another rural setting but that's not the case. Connecting with nature and experiencing the benefit can come from something as simple as noticing the pattern on a leaf or breathing in the crisp autumn air.
"It's really exciting that the RSPB Nature Prescription project is coming to an urban area for the first time and I'm delighted that it's happening thanks to funding raised by players of People's Postcode Lottery."
In all, there have been 26 RSPB Nature Prescription schemes to date in areas around the UK. Many of these have now gone on to operate independently, once the training has been completed. This represents a promising start for what is proving to be a fruitful care option for some mental health issues.
