INNOVATIVE and original thinking is certainly needed to help the NHS, which even the Government now accepts is in crisis as it struggles to cope with record patient numbers which far outstrip budgets. A pilot scheme being taken on by two of the district’s Clinical Commissioning Groups could tick both of those boxes.

GPs in Bradford City and Bradford Districts CCGs are now being given the opportunity to help certain patients join community groups or take up other social activities using a network of expert charities.

The patients involved will also be guided by a ‘community connector’ who will help them to maintain healthy lifestyles as well as better manage existing health conditions, to try to cut down on associated illnesses, and deal with other matters which can affect their health - ranging from debt to housing issues.

Another of the core aims is to break a cycle of loneliness experienced by many people, often a trigger for depression or linked conditions, which can result in lengthy and expensive courses of prescription medicines.

Research has shown that improving people’s well-being can be crucial factor in how they respond to medical treatments which, it is hoped, will help reduce the queues of patients waiting at doctors’ doors.

And that, say those behind the project, could result in significant savings in the costs of primary care and go some way to reduce the huge financial pressure our health services are under.

So prescribing happiness does seem to have the potential to help lift some of the gloom which is hanging over our treasured NHS.