GP clinics in the UK can now become certified ‘Parkrun practices’ with doctors able to flag patients who may benefit most from physical exercise, and practice staff and doctors also encouraged to join in.
Parkrun is a not-for-profit organisation which encourages people to do a 5 km run or walk at a pace of their choosing in a local park every weekend, with a strong social and community component.
Should Australian GPs look at following suit?
Yes, according to Sydney University Professor of Public Health Chris Maher, a long-time Parkrun participant.
‘We sometimes think prescriptions are just about disease. This is thinking more broadly about people improving their lives,’ he told newsGP.
