impact of fruit and vegetable prescription

Hundreds of NHS patients have been prescribed fruit and vegetables by their GPs in a pioneering scheme found to help them lose weight and lower blood pressure.

The initiative was piloted in the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Lambeth, providing weekly £8 fruit and vegetable vouchers to patients in poverty with long-term illnesses.

Results published on Wednesday show that after eight months, nine out of ten saw improvements in their physical health and the number of GP visits among the group almost halved.

Eight in ten ate “five a day” when they received the prescriptions, compared with less than three in ten at the start of the programme, which was run by the Alexandra Rose Charity.

Activists are now calling for the release of the government