| For a full-on,
unashamed testimony of faith in the power of arts activity
to heal, take a visit to the foyer of Chelsea and Westminster
Hospital. Such an invitation is not what most people
would expect, but there again, neither is the hospital's
large central atrium. For one claim to its fame is that
it houses the world's largest indoor sculpture, in the
steel form of "The Acrobat" by Allen Jones, soaring
more than 18 metres high. And although monumental, this
is only one of a thousand works of art that have been
acquired through the funding of charities, businesses
and individuals since the award-winning hospital opened
in 1993. That works out at an average of nearly two
every week for ten years. The framing bill alone was
£25,000 in one year. On top of that, two or three performances
are held every week, ranging from traditional jazz,
folk and world music to opera, chamber music, poetry-readings
and dance. |
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Although Susan Loppert, the Director of Chelsea and
Westminster Hospital Arts, looks for uplifting and
optimistic work, she has put on La Boheme and La Traviata,
both dealing with terminal illness, without any adverse
comment. In the ten years since it started, not a
penny of NHS money has gone into the project. And
with works by prominent artists such as Patrick Heron,
Sian Tucker and a series of ten sunrises by Maggie
Hambling, the collection is the only hospital asset
which is likely to increase in value over the years.
In 1995, the City of London Sinfonia embarked on a
four-year residency. Each month an informal concert
was followed by a workshop for patients. Other residencies
have included the Medici String Quartet on the theme
of The Seven Ages of Man, and South Asian Dance ensemble,
Akademi. Since 1996, Hospital Arts has been staging
an annual music festival, a series of seven free concerts
for the whole community.
Such a volume and intensity of activity suggests that
a prescription of arts as medicine has been eagerly
swallowed. It certainly stems from a long lineage
in Europe, back to the start of the 14th Century,
and with Florence Nightingale writing in 1860 that
brightly coloured flowers and paintings helped patients
to recover more quickly. The Hopi and Navajo tribes
of North America made pictures in the sand to heal
their sick. However, in a climate where economists
and politicians are ever watchful of the ever-rising
costs of delivering a National Health Service, hard
evidence is demanded.
So Dr Rosalia Staricoff was commissioned by the project
to lead a study of the effects of the visual and performing
arts in healthcare, with the bulk of the funding coming
from Kings Fund, an independent British healthcare
charity and think-tank. She worked on the research
project with Susan Loppert and artist Jane Duncan.
The aim was to provide a scientific, clinical evaluation
to support the wealth of anecdotal evidence that abounds
about the beneficial effects of art on healing.
Their preliminary findings were published in February
this year, and confirmed the anecdotal evidence. For
example, anxiety levels of patients in the Medical
Day Unit were found to be 18% lower than in the control
group, and depression levels 34% lower. Patients exposed
to visual arts and live music during their post-op
period needed fewer painkillers and left hospital
one day earlier than others. One of the NHS' biggest
problems is maintaining the morale of staff, and the
high cost of absenteeism and recruitment. In the study,
two thirds of healthcare respondents indicated that
the environment created in the Chelsea and Westminster
Hospital greatly influenced their decision, either
to apply for a job, or to stay there. As Susan Loppert
says "Our staff are as underpaid, overworked and under-resourced
as anywhere else, but a feeling of pride has developed".
The research team is completing the full report over
this summer, and the results are likely to add still
more weight to the arguments for the value of arts
intervention in health settings.
Contact
Dr Rosalia Lelchuk Staricoff Chelsea and Westminster
Hospital Arts
369 Fulham Road, London SW10 9NH
Tel: 020 8846 6864
e-mail: research.project@chelwest.nhs.uk
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