The Know Daily - Tuesday 7 October 2025

_{Read in 4m 22s ∙ Listening to Maggie Rogers ∙}

Retired police dog Izzy is still proving she’s a top dog 🐾 Having trotted away from active service, the seven-year-old spaniel now helps her owner teach canine first aid – through demonstrations and sometimes by calmly lying still as students learn lifesaving skills.

❤️‍🩹 Social prescribing

The NHS is expanding social prescribing, a concept that links people to non-medical activities to help boost wellbeing.

What counts as social prescribing?
Doctors or other healthcare professionals can refer people to walking groups, gardening clubs, art workshops or volunteering. The idea is simple: health isn’t just about prescriptions, it’s also about purpose, belonging and being active. The approach is already being trialled nationwide – from Forest Green Rovers offering football tickets on prescription to growing numbers of GP surgeries linking patients up with Parkrun and local nature projects. The NHS aims for at least 900k people to benefit from social prescribing each year.

What are the benefits?
Supporters say social prescribing takes pressure off the NHS by helping people manage long-term conditions, improve mental health and feel more connected. For example, a report last year found an up to 24% decrease in A&E attendance in Kent, a 42% reduction in GP appointments needed in Tameside and around 9% lower care costs in Newcastle for those referred to social prescribing. Studies have also shown links to reduced loneliness and better physical fitness, and advocates say it’s especially useful for patients who might not need medication but do need support. It can also strengthen local economies by funding small charities and community programmes that help keep people active and engaged.

Are there any critics?
Some experts question whether social prescribing has the nationwide evidence to back its rapid expansion. While many people report feeling better, large-scale studies are still catching up. Others warn that local charities and community groups – the ones actually running these activities – are often stretched thin and rely on short-term funding. 

Where do we go from here?
The NHS is betting big on social prescribing as part of a shift towards prevention rather than cure. For many, it’s already offering a gentler, more human way to get well – one that’s about connection as much as care. But for it to work long-term, experts say it’ll need stable funding, better data and continued collaboration between health services and communities.

🇫🇷 Rapid resignation: French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned from the role less than 24 hours after forming his cabinet.

• The bigger story: Lecornu’s cabinet choices faced swift resistance from opposition parties, who criticised a lack of fresh direction and too much continuity with the previous government. His offer to “compromise” failed to win support, leaving President Macron to decide whether to appoint a new prime minister or call fresh elections.

🕊️ Middle East latest: Gaza peace talks continue in Egypt as Israel marks two years since the October 7 attacks.

👩‍🔬 And the winner is…: Two US-based scientists and their Japanese peer have won the 2025 Nobel Prize for medicine.

🌕 Lunar live show: The first supermoon of 2025 rose last night and was named the Hunter’s Moon. 

✈️ Entry expectations: The EU’s new Entry/Exit System launches this week. Here's everything you need to know.

🧳 Wintry wandering: Whilst we’re on travel, here are the world’s 20 best places to visit from October to February to catch some winter sun. 

✍️ Literary legend: The cast of Rivals have remembered Dame Jilly Cooper as a “magical woman” following her death aged 88. Here are some of her most iconic novels. 

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Trivia answer: A) Ralph Lauren is set to open The Polo Bar Ralph Lauren at 1 Hanover Square, in an expansion of the brand’s restaurant empire.

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