Collaboration across health, statutory & voluntary sectors

MAKING THE CASE FOR BRINGING ABOUT CHANGE – If you want to make change it helps to have a plan.

by Karen Pilkington

Creative health is defined as creative approaches and activities which have benefits for our health and wellbeing. Activities can include visual and performing arts, crafts, film, literature, cooking and creative activities in nature, such as gardening; approaches may involve creative and innovative ways to approach health and care services, co-production, education and workforce development. Creative health can be applied in homes, communities, cultural institutions and heritage sites, and healthcare settings. Creative health can contribute to the prevention of ill-health, promotion of healthy behaviours, management of long-term conditions, and treatment and recovery across the life course.

I recently listened to a webinar hosted by Prof Helen Chatterjee Research Programme Director for Health Inequalities, UKRI AHRC with input from intensely relevant and moving speakers:

David Tovey, Arts and Homelessness International Homepage | Arts & Homelessness International (ARTSHOMELESSINT.COM) – David spoke about how his organisation was coproducing embedding arts into local councils’ homeless strategies – tickets for cinema/theatre, spaces for doing art for homeless people, asking the question “What do you need from us to make your life a little bit easier?”; providing fair pay – how can we coproduce if people get sanctioned and lose benefits for working?; building in care – creating programmes with 2 producers so if one has to take time off for ill health then there is a second to keep it on track.

? Rose Sergent, Contact Theatre, Manchester Home – Contact (contactmcr.com) an arts organisation where young people lead asking the question, “how can we look after each other and the planet in the face of public service cuts and climate crisis?” ? Josie Moon and Kelly McLaughlin, East Marsh United East Marsh United where music, storytelling, theatre, arts and craft is central to inform practice to create community in places who benefit little from national arts and culture funding. Kelly shared, “The writing group helped me express what I wanted to say to give me my voice and life back. Creativity is so much more than doing art!”

? Liz Morgan Director for Public Health, Northumberland County Council who are using Wemwbs (WARWICK.AC.UK) as an evaluation tool and are being evaluated by the NiHR in Northumberland to build further quantitative data to support funding across the region for Arts Projects. She identified that early help and support around reading for wellbeing created security and safety for young children, even helping sleep patterns and the therapeutic value of reading for pleasure becomes clear especially when it enables diverse communities to better engage with health through improved literacy. Northumberland are creating a Culture Centre in Bylthe around a hub model including community cinema, performance space, café and creative place and a health and wellbeing hub all under one roof. The ICB and Local Authority are co funding an Arts in Wellbeing coordinator to ensure that everyone has access to the arts for more than just the arts sake.

? Ruth Bromley, GP and Clinical Lead for Homeless Health, Greater Manchester Integrated Care asking “Where is the public voice at board level? Where are the vcse at board level? Just feeling better isn’t valued by the NHS so we need to begin to trust the voices of people who are saying how community and creative practice is increasing life expectancy. Best practice happens in free thinking spaces where everyone is at the table in decision making spaces, and power and control has been truly levelled. The VCSE has real skills in creating bespoke and holistic solutions in the lives of individuals.” Ruth ensured that we know how devastating the immediate picture is quoting one of her diabetic patients in Wythenshaw saying, “Don’t talk to me about diets, I can’t afford to eat properly, just gimme the medication.” Aesop Arts and Society Aesop (ae-sop.org) who are running falls prevention courses through dance.

Whilst much of what they said I am aware is replicated in Plymouth very well, it was incredibly empowering to hear passion across the UK to embed the voluntary community sector and specifically creative practice into Integrated Care alongside professional opinion and research that this is not only vital, will create huge advances in wellbeing that the medical models have not been able to do but if we don’t create sustainable funding then we are in grave danger of continuing the downward spiral of what happens when people are continually let down by services that are supposed to be supporting them.

Some of my favourite takeaways:

“Arts has the ability to go deeper in improving wellbeing, knowledge sharing, resilience and skills.”

“I can’t grow as a person if my community does not.” David Tovey

“Art matters because it gives new ways of looking at the world and allows us to feel emotionally attached.” Liz Morgan

“Authentic voice has happened in this space through the collaborations of people like David and Kelly and we have ceded power to people, so I almost don’t need to say anything else.” Ruth Bromley.

“We must create SPACE to think about prevention/trauma informed/non-medical/creative health options so we can reach every family living in poverty with better health outcomes.” Ruth Bromley

Helen is supporting a creative review and is asking for any organisations to share their outcomes, evaluations and data on how projects are making a difference. The review has the opportunity to speak directly to government, to strongly advocate for a joined-up commissioning and funding strategy across all elements of Integrated Care, including the VCS and even to DWP to challenge taking away benefits like PIP once a person has “improved”. The review aims to translate “righteous anger”, hard won wellbeing through determination and empowering people in their own communities and the support of considerate generous and trusting local authorities and integrated care boards to government to create meaningful and lasting change.

Information can be forwarded to [email protected] by May 31, 2023.