Britain leads the world in using the skills and talents of artists in creative health projects that are intended to engage and interest, uplift the spirit and stimulate the body, writes Peter Senior. Some 30 years of devoted work within the National Health Service by artists in all media has resulted in a growing awareness of the many benefits of arts in health projects to staff, patients and the public. When people are involved with arts activities as a participant or spectator, they often become absorbed, fulfilled and invigorated. This has beneficial effects on them, on others and on the physical and social environment for health. Small wonder that using arts activities in relation to regeneration projects and community health, mental health and public health programmes has resulted in many positive outcomes.
Society currently recognises the need for physical and mental stimulation, and nothing compares with the variety of ways in which music, theatre, dance, movement, poetry, prose, painting, printmaking and sculpture ? to mention just a few arts activities among many ? engage people in positive ways. Today, creative collaborations between artists and healthcare professionals have found amazing ways of providing creative solutions to public health issues. Several hundred artists are contributing weekly to this cause.
How did this movement develop and the partnership between the arts and health begin? In 1973 I worked as artist in residence at St. Mary?s Hospital, Manchester, and in the following year established the Hospital Arts team there. This was the first time that contemporary artists were employed solely to work in and for the health service. This initiative grew over a period of ten years into a multi-disciplinary team of eight artists working throughout Manchester?s hospitals and health centres. Their work inspired people in other areas of the country to follow suit. A scheme to loan artists? work to hospitals called ?Paintings in Hospitals? had been operating in the London area since 1959. Other organisations with a remit to bring the arts into healthcare were to follow in the late 1970s: the Shape/Artlink network, the King?s Fund Scheme to commission art for London Hospitals, the Council for Music in Hospitals, Live Music Now, the National Network for the Arts in Health, the Centre for Arts and Humanities in Health and Medicine, and many others.
In 1988, Arts for Health was established as a national centre, located in the Faculty of Art and Design at the Manchester Metropolitan University. Its aim was to unite artists, designers and health authorities in establishing arts for health projects as an integral part of the nation?s healthcare culture. It is now primarily concerned with developing models of good practice for hospital trusts throughout the UK and leads the way in developing studies and research to evaluate the efficacy of this work.
Arts for Health aims to provide guidelines by which projects can be assessed. The question of how to measure subjective arts experiences is a difficult one. Through qualitative research we are trying to measure the effects objectively. The centre holds a notional archive of arts in healthcare projects, which is continually being developed, while studies in this field are encouraged. One study, Patient Focused Architecture for Healthcare, looks at healthcare, architecture and design from the patient?s viewpoint and has been acknowledged as an invaluable manual for architects and health managers. Culture and creativity are now very high on the modern health manager?s agenda. Hospitals appreciate the need for creating good first impressions, and in many cases the arts project has become the public face of the hospital.
Recently, Arts for Health was awarded funding for a significant arts in health initiative in the Northwest Health Region. The project will work to improve arts services to the NHS in the Northwest Region. Arts for Health will promote and assist artists and arts organisations within the region and organise support and training for artists and healthcare staff. A key aspect of the project will be to monitor and evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the arts on the delivery of healthcare. By helping healthcare staff to be more imaginative in their approach to work, assisting them with presenting difficult health issues creatively and providing a more stimulating working environment, we hope to improve the recruitment and retention of staff.
Peter Senior MBE is the Director of Arts for Health. t: 0161 247 1091;
e: p.senior@mmu.ac.uk. He will be addressing the Leisure 2004 conference, taking place at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall from June 29 ? July 1. t: 01491 874854; w: http://www.ilam.co.uk; e: events@ilam.co.uk. Leisure 2004 is presented by ILAM in association with the Chief Culture and Leisure Officers Association, the Voice of Chief Officers of Culture, Community and Leisure Services in Scotland, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and ILAM Scotland.