Why social prescriptions are just what the doctor ordered

Social prescriptions, from fishing to knitting groups, are helping patients back on to the road to recovery

‘Young’ John, a member of Newcastle’s fishing group, with his latest catch. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

"We're total idiots," says John, 68, gesturing to the rest of the small group peering optimistically into the Tyne on a gloomy autumn morning. "We fish in all weathers. We stand here in the snow." But he adds: "It's more about meeting up than catching fish."

Other members of the Newcastle fishing group agree. It is a chance, they say, to break free of the emotional isolation of keeping their feelings under wraps.

"I never thought I would suffer from depression," says Paul, 59, who was unable to carry on in his job after a brain tumour and a heart bypass. "It just crept up on me. I lost a lot of friends when I was trying to tell people. They didn't want to know. You can't talk to your family, really. [People think] a man doesn't cry. It's a comfort to talk to someone who's already had it. These people here have opened me back up, to be honest."

Friendships have been moulded as the group vie to catch the most "flatties" (flounders), whiting and cod; and the fishers regularly meet up for a coffee at other times of the week. The group's current members found it through a variety of routes, from word of mouth to a stall at a local fete. But with the expansion of a scheme for Newcastle GPs to offer "social prescribing" – an approach that seeks to improve health by tackling patients' social and physical wellbeing – members may increasingly come via a referral from primary care.