Organisers of the Parkrun UK charity, which was founded in Bushy Park in October 2004, have said that GPs should prescribe parkruns to improve patients' wellbeing and ease pressure on the NHS.

As part of the ParkRun UK scheme, which began with 13 runners, people across the country take park in five kilometre runs every weekend.

According to the Daily Mail, Parkrun UK works with a number of GP surgeries to help family doctors 'socially prescribe' these events for their patients.

Now it is calling for the initiative to be rolled out across the whole of the NHS.

The charity works with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), and nearly 2,000 surgeries around the UK have signed up to socially prescribe parkruns.

It said that if the model was rolled out across the whole NHS, there could be reduced pressure in the system.

Parkrun's Chief Executive, Russ Jefferys said: "Participating in parkrun, whether that be walking, running, volunteering or even just coming down to your local park to be outdoors with others, is a great way for people to start to make improvements to their physical and mental health.

"With the government set to announce their 10-Year Health Plan, we believe parkrun can play a vital part in helping reduce the pressure on the NHS and creating a healthier, happier and more active nation by expanding our parkrun programme and making sure that parkrun reaches those with most to gain from taking part in it."

A poll of 2,000 UK adults, conducted by YouGov on behalf of parkrun, found that 65 per cent believe GPs should prescribe parkruns, with 51 per cent of adults agreeing that such a move could help reduce pressure on the NHS.

Bushy Park's parkrun celebrated its 20th anniversary in October 2024.