‘No one judges you out here’: fishing prescribed for NHS patients

[Northerner]

They talk with almost mythic reverence about the 24lb common carp. It is the prize fish in this quiet Manchester fishing pond, where the catch below the surface is a much-needed distraction from the troubles on land.

Last week a group of NHS patients has become some of the first in the country to be recommended fishing to improve their mental health. Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust has partnered with a local fishing organisation, Tackling Minds, with the aim of helping patients overcome issues such as depression and anxiety.

The novel move is part of a growing trend towards social prescribing, where patients are recommended activities such as dancing or gardening to boost their mental wellbeing. It will not replace any ongoing treatment, but will be overseen by trained occupational therapists. The NHS hopes that 900,000 patients will have been guided towards social activities by their GPs by 2024.

‘No one judges you out here’: fishing prescribed for NHS patients

Move is part of growing trend towards social prescribing to boost mental wellbeing

www.theguardian.com

 

[trophywench]

Mmmmm - fishing isn't really a very sociable activity though so ??? Away from the bank, yes, But not while you're waiting to see if you get a bite. You speak in low voices and absolutely never stomp about - unless you want to scare the fish off?

 

[ukjohn]

I would get even more depressed at having to kill the fish having caught one.

 

[trophywench]

Nooooo! - catch and chuck back, normally in the UK and France. Carp are not a human food fish in most civilised countries - bottom feeders, taste vile. They do eat em in Northern Europe - and the carp from the ancient stewponds at Combe Abbey were soon cleared when they resettled Poles in a 'camp' in the Abbey grounds just after the last war.

Fly fishing for trout or salmon, normally you can only keep say 2, but if you don't like eating them, you wouldn't bother despatching even the couple you're allowed.

 

[mikeyB]

I have eaten carp (and pike, come to think) in Italy. Very nice too. Is Italy civilised? Pigs eat ****, but I bet you eat pork. Shellfish eat anything that happens to be floating by, inluding micro plastics. Oysters, mussels, clams, all lovely to eat. To say nothing of the scallop, a bottom feeder par excellence. Rabbits eat their own poo, to get all the goodness out. They are good to eat, too. Low fat. As are the somewhat omnivorous pigeon. That I ate in a Michelin starred restaurant. Most butchers don’t stock them anymore.

But you are correct about catch and put back. A fisherman doesn’t chuck them back, he gently puts the fish in the water till it has come to its senses and swims off happily with a sore gob. And currently you can’t keep a salmon you catch anywhere, unless you are royalty I guess.

 

[Andy HB]

Carp isn't too bad. I've had some nice carp from the Danube in a town in Romania mostly designed by Italian architects (some lovely buildings there, some of which are being restored to their former glory). However, I probably have to point out that carp, in Romanian, is crap (literally).

Oh, by the way, cod is another bottom feeder. Had any fish and chips recently (maybe not so much of the chips)? 🙂