Scotland's chief medical officer, Dr Harry Burns, is plumbing for a new prescription to improve the nation's health. Get back to nature and get well. He advocates outdoor activities like organic gardening and forest improvement to combat a range of diseases. According to the doctor exercise rates in Scotland are notoriously poor and needs improvement.
The chief says outdoor pursuits should become part of mainstream treatment for conditions such as obesity, heart diseases and mental health. Pilot projects have brought a reduction in suicidal tendencies among mental-health patients and a fall in cigarette smoking. A conservation therapy programme involving manual work in the forest at Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, is aimed at people suffering from drug and alcohol misuse.
Encouraged by the results from the pilot projects the authorities are trying to get these activities incorporated into mainstream health service delivery system of Scotland.
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