A major expansion of using exercise and activities to boost health has been pledged for Scotland, with the aim of making social prescriptions as important as medical prescriptions.

Health secretary Jeane Freeman has announced a working group will be set up to look at the best examples of social prescribing and how to expand them.

In a letter in response to a report from Holyrood’s health & sport committee on the issue, she said she believed there was “more we can do to build on the growing momentum” behind the concept of social prescribing.

“I agree with the committee that there is significant potential to increase the pace and scale of this work across Scotland, building on examples of best practice in delivery.

“We will therefore establish a working group to identify and communicate such examples of best practice, and coproduce resources for practitioners in the many roles which make up the overall system.”

The idea of social prescribing is based around GPs and other frontline healthcare workers helping patients access activities such as going for a walk, taking up a sport or cooking to combat illness, obesity and poor health.  

This is usually done with the help of community link workers, with the Scottish Government pledging to bring in 250 new workers across Scotland by 2021.

However the letter from Ms Freeman shows patchy progress so far, with a total of 116 link workers in post in March 2019.

Some areas – including Aberdeen, Ayrshire & Arran, Edinburgh and Glasgow – have more than a dozen workers.

But 14 local authority areas had yet to hire any, ranging from Highland and Argyll and Bute to Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders.

Ms Freeman also said the Scottish Government is “supportive in principle” of the committee’s recommendation that social prescriptions should be treated on an equal basis to medical prescriptions.

“This is in line with the principles of realistic medicine, which aims to deliver a more personalised approach to care.

“We will explore with key stakeholders including the Academy of Royal Colleges how Scotland might achieve this aim, and are currently engaging with a number of expert by experience groups to capture their experiences of social prescribing to help inform future policy.”

MSPs will hold a debate on social prescribing on Tuesday 18^th February in the Scottish Parliament.