To want to get gym membership on the NHS

[lucyellensmum]

Our local swimming pool does GP reffered memberships and fitness programs. I suffer with depression and anxiety - i used to love the gym but i cannot afford it or justify the time away from DD. If i could get this at a reduced rate i could ask my mum to have DD for a couple of hours a week just so i could get back on track - i want to come off of ADs but cant do so without an outlet. Has anyone any experience of this?

Mascara, if you knew me, you would know that having my nails done would be like having my eyelashes pulled out with blunt tweezers. I keep them short The wine would be nice, but i dont drink now.

Thankyou for your kind comments moondog

just wanted to say, to whoever wrote earlier that exercise provides only short term benefit & doesn't give you motivation.. well, I don't agree. It works on several levels, sure you get the short term high which comes from the physical workout and the feel-good chemicals it triggers. It also works on a cognitive level; giving a sense of achievement, building confidence & better body image.. all things which can have long term effects, and which can lead to overall increased motivation and better mood.

And people might not carry on at the gym once the prescription ends, for a variety of reasons (other than it not working).
They might not be able to afford continuing, or the gym might've given them the head start to do lone, free exercise like running, or they might hate exercise but have their mood lifted enough by the gym to do other things that help them combat depression (get a part time job, see friends more etc..)

I think its a great and very sensible idea!

It's a lot easier to go somewhere like a gym to start exercising. You can do it alone or with a trainer, but you aren't in a class of other people who are all fitter and better at it than you are. You can take it your own pace. Running outside for all the world to see when you are unfit and already lacking in confidence is hard. But once you've got fit in the gym and feel better about yourself, it's much easier to move on to something else that is perhaps cheaper (or free).

I think starting off with gym membership is an excellent idea - I hated the thought of exercising outside to start with, but after a stint at the gym I felt much more confident

I'd avoid classes, the instructors shout (ouch) and everyone else seems uber-co-ordinated.

ok i havent read all the replies but

i was referred to the gym for obeisyt

tho i am also bipolar so i have benefitted twice

i got a reduced charge and you have a booklet to fill in

you get 24 sessions i think and then you have to pay

i found it the best thing that could ever happen to me

i have gone down in weight from 14st 7 to under 10 st and it was a wonderful thing to change my lifestyle and improve my mood

i am sure iuf i hadnt had it then i would have been hospitalised last year when my whole life went pear shaped but because i had established the exercise it meant i coped much better than anyone imagined

both my exh and my exdp thought i would kill myself but i got through so

i think it is great

i am still going it was the getting going with it that the referal from the gp helped with and tbh it cost peanuts

so yes peoiple do carry on

and me going into hospital for 3 months or whatever and then coming out and getting dla or other benefits would have been hugely more expensive

Interesting Zippi: my mum has bipolar and also finds exercise helps enormously.

Well done on your weight loss and general life improvement btw

Message withdrawn

to the oposter. it obviously depends on your particular financial situation, but i dont consider my gym membership a luxury. i appreciate that we are not on the breadline, but when it comes to cutting costs, that will be one of the last things to go. eating out, all alcohol, new clothes for me or dh, ony bare essentials for growng kids will all go before the gym membership is lost, because the use of the gym keeps my depression at bay.
however having a gym membership alone isnt enough. you need to actually go there. and tbh, if you are not motivated in yourself to go, then it is a complete waste of money
so, no i dont think you should ask for it on the nhs

thank you for the congrats

i am proud of myself lolol

i can't believe this is still going! the NHS is overstretched - a lot of this is caused by people who smoke, overeat, drink, take non prescribed drugs, engage in dangerous activities like football, rugby, potholing. Each and every single member of our society is entitled to high quality medical interventions including preventative services to assist them in the highest possible quality of health/life. I don't argue that e.g. people who choose to smoke should have to pay anything other than presc charges for any treatment they receive as a result (including smoking cessation). So, free or subsidised exercise schemes/gym membership should also be free for those who have a medical condition that warrants it. And then along the way, the NHS will not have such a huge bill for drugs/ops/in patient stays etc.

good luck LEM

the majority of disese and pathology is caused by lifestyle eg smoking,sedentary lifestyle,diet,alcohol.The NHS offers treatment in all of these cases.

The efficacy and cost benefit analysis of exercise and mental health is well established

Chiming in with last two posts. My dd is getting physio, and will possible have hydrotherapy, for her joints. The idea is to save money in the long run, because if her condition is not managed now she will almost certainly need more medical intervention and may not be able to work when she's grown-up, which will mean a hefty bill for the tax payer.
Surely, on the same lines it would make every sort of sense to pay for effective treatment for the OP now instead of waiting until she requires more expensive treatment?
Oh an btw, dd did get referred to a gym for her joints, on the NHS, but was unable to take it up because her condition worsened.

erm... yes YABU IMO!

pre-pregnancy I managed to stay fit and keep weight off by walking as much as poss and going running 3x a week - this is completely free! I intend to do it again post-birth to get back in shape. Sorry if it sounds harsh but there are so many FREE ways to keep fit if you put your mind to it - run with a friend if that helps your motivation, but don't ask the rest of us to pay taxes to subsidise your gym membership!

sorry haven't read the whole post so someone may have said this already, most of these schemes do not cost the nhs money , it is the gym basically offering a discouted or free membersgip, if your local area is doing htis , go for it, if your local primary care trust is funding it the money will probably be " ring-fenced " for this, ie not to be used for anything else. If local surgeries do not use up the ring-fenced money put aside for a project the money at the end of the year invariably goes to pay off any health authority defeciets ( usually accurred due to poor management) , and i agree in the end you will ocst the nhs less if you get off your ADs. this is a very simplified explanation on how the health authorities work before someone jumps down my throat.

I think some of you are being a bit harsh. The cost of a gym membership for a few months is going to be cheaper than long term AD drugs and other associated costs. I dont think LEM is suggesting she needs free membership for life,just a chance to get back into exercise presumably with a bit of help from some professionals.

I am feeling quite positive about it actually today - i will make an appointment with doctors next week (my doctor is away today) and see if i can get a refferal. I imagine it will be free as my friend who got this for obesity didnt have to pay.

I certainly don't expect my membership to be subsidised indefinately, but i just need the motivation to start - If i can then say to my mum, i have been prescribed this please can you look after DD a couple of times a week she would, she would be less keen to commit to this if she just saw it as a leisure thing. The gym is an addictive thing - so hopefully once i start........so a few months at the tax payers expense (you know, me and my DP, we pay tax too you know!!) to help me off the happy pills, that has to be good doesnt it.

I still don't know why the NHS should pay gym fees. A brisk walk or run is just as good and free. A skipping rope is very cheap and good exercise.

well the other thing is that on this scheme you get advice and supervision and help from the practice nurse and trained gym bod

and follow up

I used to run pre pregnancy, i did the race for life in 24 minutes!!(not bad for someone weighing in at 13 stone!) and i used to go running with DP three times a week, he doesnt have time for this now and i dont think i could get him out to do it. The reason i dont want to go running is i would simply be too self concious, i could probably only manage to run to the end of my street before i was a huffing puffing sweating mess - i can imagine people pissing themselves laughing at me so i dont want to expose myself to this. The gym would be a great place for me to get my fitness levels back to where i could then feel able to run out in public again.

saying that, all you dragons who say i should just put on my running shoes are making my feet itchy and i am thinking i would love to go running again, the gym will help me on my way to that i think.

the nhs wont pay gym fees -it will offer time limited specific interventions and local authority offers discounted gym access

scottishmummy, thats what i mean My thread title was a poor choice i think.

The last three years have seen a significant rise in the number of GPs prescribing exercise to people with mild to moderate depression, according to new research from the Mental Health Foundation. The charity says that 22% of GPs now prescribe exercise therapy as one of their three most common treatments for depression compared with only 5% three years ago.

hopefully i can persuade my doctor its a good idea then