We know that there is unique potential for the arts to be used in health care settings.  From developing care services and professional practice to helping patients envisage and refine strategies to cope with ill health, the arts have a valuable role to play.  Through our work to date we have seen the impact that the arts can have.  We have seen people helped and healed through arts intervention.

However, the application of many arts practices in health care fields are emerging specialities, without agreed protocols, practices or the best way of doing things.  Furthermore we don't believe that we yet know the extent that the arts could be used to improve health care, or the specific benefits of refining and implementing specialist arts and health activity.

We want to develop the expertise to able to argue for, prove and deliver the valuable work that the arts can play in the delivery and refinement of health care services.  We want to analyse and refine the application of drama techniques to rehearse behaviour change, and impact on the way people prepare and undertake interventions in their own and other people's lives.  We want to be at the forefront of the movement to justify and develop the role that the arts plays in health and wellbeing.

The Department of Health Prospectus for Arts and Health Activity states:

"The wealth of evidence and good practice examples illustrates the benefits right across the spectrum of arts and health, including improving clinical and therapeutic outcomes, helping users to express, contain and transform distress and disturbance, creating a less stressful environment for patients, service users, staff and visitors, increasing the understanding between clinicians and the people for whom they care, bettering public health, developing and delivering more patient-focused services, and improving the experience for all."

Already we have developed work in many of these areas and continue to develop approaches which impact across the range of opportunities highlighted in this document.

PAST PROJECTS:

Words and Actions (helping users express, increasing understanding between, patient focussed) - Words and Actions is a service-user led drama group of actors with a range of learning disabilities.  Originally established as a funded project the group now continues by devising and delivering performances as training to health and social care professionals and students. 

Treading Water Theatre Group (helping users express, transform distress, creating less stressful environments, increasing understanding between, patient focussed)- Using the Words and Actions model we have established another group, this time consisting of adults with experience of mental health problems.  The group have devised, written and performed their own piece of 'forum theatre,' one performance of which happened in the members' own local surgery.

Clearing the Air (improving public health) - A series of public performances in non-traditional venues, including a pub, exploring issues connected to smoking cessation, relapse and public health.

Mums Moving On (helping users express, transform distress, creating less stressful environments, increasing understanding between, patient focussed) - a multi-disciplinary arts project working with mothers with experience of post natal illness.

Death, Bereavement and the Healing Arts (helping users express, transform distress, creating less stressful environments, increasing understanding between, patient focussed) - A forum theatre piece was developed which dealt with issues connected to palliative care.  The piece was performed for health care professionals.  It allowed the audience to approach the experience of receiving and giving information and care from numerous perspectives, and allowed them to imagine how the 'script' that is played out in such situations impacts on the patient and those around them.  Our work on this project led to the company contributing to a recently published book.

Dare to Care (increasing understanding between, patient focussed) - working with a private sector partner (Quality Care Partnership - who promote careers in the care sector) we created a piece of theatre piece examining the potential pitfalls for students who go on work placements.  This piece is another example of our commitment to using 'Actor Experts' - actors with personal experience of the issues they are being asked to portray.

Patient Simulation (improving clinical and therapeutic outcomes, increasing the understanding between clinicians and the people for whom they care) - For several years we have been involved in the provision of actors for patient simulation and medical roleplay.  In the future we want to develop this approach, and analyse how refinements to practice can improve this important resource in the training of health care professionals.

FUTURE PLANS:

The future will see us focussing on how the arts can be used in health interventions to achieve lasting change in the lives of patients.  We are currently interested in the application of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy techniques alongside drama and theatre techniques to rehearse and trigger lasting positive change.

We will continue to use the arts to engage the general public and health care professionals in debate, contemplation and action in the refinement and delivery of health care provision and practice.