How art can aid health

A PIONEEERING project to use art to promote public health is being launched by the NHS in the North West.

The innovative partnership is the first of its kind in the country and will see art play a part in the design of hospitals and clinics, patient care, rehabilitation and health promotion.

Being close to art and participating in arts can speed recovery from illness, according to studies from around the world, and the North West is home to the leading UK centre for Arts for Health, based at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU).

The £1/2 million project will provide art and design services to the health service via a new partnership between the Department of Health and Social Care North West, MMU, Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council, the Arts Council North West and Bolton Primary Care Trust.

The partnership will promote and manage a database of artists and art organisations to provide services for the NHS, organise training programmes for NHS staff and artists in the use of arts for health and carry out assessments of the impact of arts projects on the delivery of health care.

Arts for Health North West, will be run from the Arts for Health Office at MMU, whose director Peter Senior is an international authority in the field. Peter started working on arts in Manchester hospitals in the 1970s and now travels the world advising politicians and health executives on the contribution of the arts to health care. Many organisations now promote arts in healthcare.

Peter Senior said: “The use of art and artists during the design of hospitals and clinics can lead to improvements inpatient satisfaction, staff morale, patient rehabilitation and even the perception of waiting times. Art can also be used in the design stage to enable local people to participate in the design of citizen-focused services.

“The use of art can improve the delivery of health care through improving the well-being and esteem of patients- so reducing bed days and recovery time.”

Professor John Ashton, Regional Director of Public Health in the North West said: “The North West is at the forefront of making work on arts and health mainstream in this country. We have many examples of the use of art in public health and healthcare, from environmental design to the use of dance, drama, meditation, humour and clown therapists. One example, Alder Hey Hospital, now has a comprehensive approach to culture in the hospital environment which goes well beyond pictures on walls.’

“This major funding will not only enable us to explore and develop art and culture in their many forms for their part in protecting health, and healing, but will also provide strong support for the North West Cultural Consortium work and Liverpool’s bid for city of culture 2008.”

The three-year scheme aims to deliver 60 training events, train 600 staff/artists, create two databases and improve patient satisfaction across the region. Funding of £385,000 from the Treasury’s Invest to save Budget was announced on Thursday, March 20. A further £70,000 comes from MMU.

For more information contact Peter Senior, Arts for Health, Manchester Metropolitan University on 0161 247 1091/1093 p.senior@mmu.ac.uk.

Other contacts: Moya Alcock, Department of health North West on 0161 952 4053 moya.alcock@doh.gsi.gov.uk

Note: Arts for Health is celebrating its 15th year since its foundation in Manchester by Peter Senior.