Whose responsibility is your health, wellness & happiness? (2)

Imagine if I said… 

 

 

Amazing I hear you say, why are we not doing this? Well to do this we would need to create more green spaces which would cost an estimated investment of £5.5 billion over a three-year period. 

 

Then you would need trained professionals to teach people how to get the most out of spending time in nature. 

 

Ouch!!! I hear you say. 

 

So, what is the option, we carry on as we are which is with most people knowing that it is their responsibility but unable to do anything about it. 

 

As I stated last time for many people, this is very difficult if not impossible because of their personal circumstances. It is an appalling thought that there is still a vast divide between those for whom getting through each day is a major challenge compared to those who can live a comfortable life. 

The latest stats from the British Social Attitudes report says 26% of Britons adults are struggling to make ends meet. While 35% say they live comfortably, which is a drop from 50% in prior years. The difference is made up of the “doing ok but not fully comfortable” or those who prefer not to say. 

 

Whatever way you look at it these are shocking statistics which contribute to a rise in mental health issues, an NHS service that is close to breaking point and therefore unable to cope. For most people, they are unable to seek help with their health outside what the NHS can provide. 

 

The combinations of rising inflation, rising unemployment, cases of mental health issues rising leaves many feeling unable to cope, never mind taking control of their own health matters and forgetting happiness, that is a luxury many cannot afford. 

 

So that is the depressing stuff out of the way. How is it possible to change how we provide health care in Britain? One way or another money has to be spent, so what is the best way and how do we pay for it? 

 

For many years we have known that spending time in nature is good for us, but can it really make a difference? For the answer we need to look to Japan, they have known of the benefits of spending time in nature and back in 1982 a practice known as Shinrin Yoku was created. 

Here are some more benefits and ways to offset the cost of the creation of sufficient green spaces for people to access and of course the people to teach them. This would result in a saving to the NHS of over £2.0 billion, every year. 

 

This is due to the reduction of treatments, medicines and staffing costs of conditions like obesity, heart disease and mental health with its many illnesses. This would also mean greatly reducing waiting times to see a doctor or go to hospital. This frees up people and resources to research some of the illnesses like dementia and motoneuron disease to perhaps find cures. 

 

Spins of from this bringing a Natural Health Service into the NHS are with more people feeling better mentally & physically work-related absenteeism and low productivity will reduce. 

 

Healthier people are more creative & productive which is good for the economy as more people are able to work, this means less benefits being paid out. Healthier happier people in work means less social housing needed, which frees up more social houses to sell on. 

 

Bringing nature into the nation’s wellness plan is like throwing a stone in a pond, the ripples spread out and touch so many places, one would wonder why this hasn’t been done already. 

We are currently going through a rebrand as we bring in other aspects to our nature-based business. Our new name will become The Nature Collective. 

 

I do hope you will continue to join me for my monthly Blogs and to discover what we can offer under our new name. The next Blog will be available on 7th September.