MPs' report makes strong case for supporting the arts in healthcare
MPs' report makes strong case for supporting the arts in healthcare
19 July 2017
A parliamentary inquiry into the link between arts, health and wellbeing found that creativity has a key role to play in keeping us healthy.
After two years of research and evidence-gathering, MPs presented their findings in the House of Commons today (July 19).
They concluded that arts-based approaches can help people stay well, recover faster, manage long-term conditions and experience a better quality of life.
Imperial Health Charity is proud to support the arts in healthcare and works hard to improve patients’ hospital experience through an extensive audience engagement programme.
We also manage a growing hospital art collection, which has been awarded full museum accreditation by Arts Council England.
Lucy Zacaria, Head of Arts at Imperial Health Charity, said: “The MPs’ report makes a very strong case for the arts to play a central role in our health and social care system and it is fantastic to see policy-makers embracing the arts at the highest level.
“At Imperial Health Charity, we aim to change the way patients and NHS staff experience the hospital environment. We believe art can transform clinical and intimidating spaces into bright and uplifting areas, while engaging with patients at the bedside and in communal groups to enhance their recovery.”
One of the many arts projects we organise is a weekly workshop at Hammersmith Hospital’s Auchi Dialysis Unit, led by artist Fay Ballard.
Fay visits patients every Wednesday, helping them develop ideas for artworks and then providing the materials to bring them to life.
The project has been hugely successful, enabling patients to reclaim the lost hours spent on dialysis and create artworks with a strong personal importance.
Maura Appelbe, Matron of the Acute Dialysis Service at Hammersmith Hospital, said: “The unit is open plan. We have very little natural light and we have a very heightened awareness of infection control, which makes it quite a clinical environment. Although we can provide some privacy and dignity, it makes it very sterile.
“The art has been a great escape for the patients. We have minimal wall space, so to bring art to patients’ bedsides has been a revelation.”
For more information about Imperial Health Charity’s audience engagement programme, click here.
To read Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing, visit http://www.artshealthandwellbeing.org.uk/appg-inquiry/#APPGAHW
