Grants - a bit of a lottery

The DIY Futures project is coming to an end*. It was a four year lottery funded Powys project (funded by the Mental Health Matters programme of the Big Lottery Fund). It was set up to “support people experiencing mental distress which led to them being unable to achieve their personal goals, have hopes for a fulfilling future or explore how they could remain in control.”

So, it was a great idea, a bunch of really committed people worked incredibly hard to raise the money, equally enthusiastic and dedicated people were employed to the key posts, and the 1:1 service was developed and rolled out across the county. As is usually the case with such projects it took a little while to spread the word, but once it was up and running it became clear that the service filled a gap. People wanted to fulfil their potential in life, and working 1:1 with a DIY Futures co-ordinator was clearly helping them achieve this.

This is a fairly typical scenario. By this stage lots of people know about the project, expectations have been raised, an excellent service is being delivered…. and then, the years fly by …. the funding is due to run out, workers have to look for new jobs… and before you know it, the project is coming to an end.

Sometimes groups and organisations believe that if they prove a need and that their project can satisfy it, that the council or health board will fund the ongoing work. Often there is a media campaign towards the end of a project for funds. And sometimes there will be a trickle of money… for a while. However, in my experience it is more likely that the project stutters to a halt leaving people despondent and frustrated.

Organisations and projects have to constantly reinvent themselves, using valuable time and energy, in order to bid for new funds. Even then they may not be successful.

What can we learn from these experiences? What could be done differently? The Big Lottery Fund and other funders can’t just fund the core costs of successful projects – then there would be no money to develop new ones (you can read the mission statement for the Big Lottery Fund here).

Perhaps there should be more work when projects are developed to show a realistic exit strategy (rather than that which is common – “more fundraising”). For example, a commitment in writing could be made by the statutory sector to continue the funding if all the outcomes are met.

Something needs to change. A debate is needed with the funders. Have you got any ideas about how to improve the current situation, or stories of projects that have been successfully continued once the initial funding has come to an end?

*The 1:1 service ended on 31 March 2013; the project has been extended until October 2013 to carry out some specific activities around evaluation and a legacy for the project currently being developed by project staff.

Boston Marathon Runner & Psychiatrist Shares Personal Story of Patriots' Day 2013

Special guest post by psychiatrist Brent Forester, M.D.

"People here need to talk about what they have been through,” says Dr. Forester. “I spoke with my medical students after the race, and they all wanted to do something to help. I told them that the injured, their families, and first responders all need a lot of emotional support.”

Monday, April 15, 2013 began as a sunny, chilly early spring day...a perfect respite to our long, dark, cold winter that brought challenges to the months of training required to run a marathon. My wife, Kim, was giving me a hard time for the training schedule I was keeping, perhaps secretly knowing what I did not yet realize: I was destined to run Boston in 2013.

What began as a challenge from Kim to run a half marathon in 1999 had morphed into a full blown passion and time consuming avocation: running long distance races to fundraise for the Alzheimer’s Association and this year, a mentoring program for future geriatric psychiatry clinicians. But after a personal best in the Chicago Marathon in October 2012, I had decided to spend 2013 focusing on a more “normal” distance of 13.1 miles, setting a goal of running 50 half marathons by my 50^th birthday (35 down with three years to go!).

Perhaps by fate, one of my running buddies was felled by a foot injury and offered me his number for Boston in late February, with only six weeks to go until race day. Luckily, I had been training with this most incredible group of friends, all neighbors and fellow runners, meeting five days a week at 5:40 a.m. (or earlier!) at the corner of Ledge and Mossman in Sudbury. Sadly, a year of brainstorming had yet to generate a team name.

On Saturday before the marathon, our families and friends gathered for a festive night of pasta to celebrate all the hours and miles of running, lack of sleep, painful legs, and cross-training efforts that included early morning TRX and spin classes and a Tuesday night yoga group for runners (minus the see-through Lululemon wear). Anticipation and excitement for Monday, Patriots’ Day, was at a peak.

The Boston Marathon is known for Heartbreak Hill, the cheering Wellesley women, the rowdy and inebriated Boston College students, the biker bar patrons on the Hopkinton/Ashland line yelling in their black leather outfits drinking beers on a Monday Morning. Where else does this happen? The Boston Marathon is all about the crowds. They are loud, deep, diverse, and hysterically funny with signs and outrageous costumes. The same fans cheering on the world’s elite, yell even louder for the “normal” charity and barely qualified runners, distributing beer, oranges, pretzels, and even Vaseline on a stick to reduce the inevitable burning and blistering skin.

Monday, April 15^th was a tough run for me. It was warmer in the sun than expected, and a pacing problem during the first half of the race left me weary climbing Heartbreak Hill. But a running buddy neighbor of mine ran a mile with me through the Newton Hills, and then I took off, determined to complete this race in less than four hours. It would be very close. The Red Sox crowd had just spilled into Kenmore Square when I arrived, and they were loud…but I stayed focused, down and up Commonwealth Ave. crossing beneath Massachusetts Ave., then a right on Hereford, a surprisingly tough hill up to Boylston, and a left hand turn down the long, endless 800 meters to the finish line near Dartmouth.

3:58:46. I did it! Exhausted. About to break out into tears reflecting my emotional sense of accomplishment and relief, when I heard behind me a massive explosion. I ducked. We shook. And then I looked behind me at a cloud of smoke and debris. “Oh my God,” I thought immediately of the many lives that had instantaneously ended or changed forever. But it was all very confusing: Where were my wife and daughter? I’ve got to get out of here. Where were the water and the silver warming cape? Was that a terrible accident or… And then the second bomb, panic; we were under attack.

Where was the next bomb going to strike? I borrowed a cell phone, “Kim, there was a bomb at the finish line; I am fine. Where are you?” She was driving on Huntington and Dartmouth, a block away…oh no. “Stay away from the Westin, do not park; drive to the corner of Boylston and the Commons.” How come everyone was so calm? The volunteers handed out our water, the silver cape, food, and the precious finisher’s medal, and then I left on Berkeley to the buses for my yellow bag and the port-o-potties, but were they even safe?

I do not recall well the four block walk to that meeting spot; it seemed endless, and there was no Kim when I arrived. And no cell phone service. Then, three of our psychiatry residents came walking across the street, calmly and not sure of what was happening. They are a godsend of emotional support with cell phones. I am shivering. I have not eaten or even sipped any water. An hour passes; finally Kim and my daughter arrive, unscathed. We were safe.

And then the “what ifs” race through your mind: What if I had taken my usual port-o-potty break or not pushed through those last few miles to break the four hour mark? I cannot really think about these realities.

Will the marathon, Patriots’ Day, Boston, Fenway Park, and all the stadiums hosting our beloved local sports teams ever be the same again?

The timing of the bombs was such that the charity runners were crossing the finish line, the four hour gang, not the elites or the sub-three hour athletes, but the everyday guy and gal who train though ice and snow for this moment, to cross the finish line in Boston cheered on by hundreds of thousands of loud supporters, strangers who seem to care about you and want to see you reach your goals whatever they may be. They were the targets of the Boston bombers.

Boston strong, the theme that has risen from the ashes of this tragedy, carries us forward and brings us closer together as a community of runners, spectators, first responders, healthcare professionals, firefighters, and police. We are all together now as one, culminating in the heroic 24 hour siege and Boston area lockdown, another surreal event capturing the intensity, exhaustion, and ultimately relief of a region.

Finally, at 8:42 p.m. on April 19^th, it is over. In a boat on Franklin Street, five blocks from my old Watertown apartment. The local hero is a regular guy who spies the blood and then the suspect.

It’s now time to go to sleep. I'll be up in five hours to meet my running crew for a slow six miles around our neighborhood, running for the first time since Hopkinton and sharing our stories, our grief, our anger, and our triumphs. This is the way we process our emotions and move forward. We still need a name for our crew; Sudbury Strong may work.

The American Psychiatric Association's website has resources for coping with traumatic events and how to help children.

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Culture Secretary on 'culture's economic impact'

A slight  s h i v e r  this week for me, on hearing our dear Culture Secretary pronounce on the arts during her first big speech. Maria Miller delivered her missive at the British Museum in London on Thursday, claiming that British culture was "perhaps the most powerful and compelling product we have available to us", especially after the success of last year's Olympics and Paralympics. Product eh? She went on to say: "When times are tough and money is tight, our focus must be on culture's economic impact." Commenting that: “British culture and creativity are now more in demand than ever before... The world clearly thinks this is a commodity worth buying into." Ms Miller could almost be talking about the Arts and Health agenda with economic impact and a bright-shiny-product being the presumed desired outcome, influencing the NHS and saving hard cash. I know there are plenty out there attempting to reduce the arts to the bland mainstream through ultra-orthodox clinical measurements - and who will lap this up. 

I think its widely understood that the arts are going to take a larger than expected hit in the budget and Ms Miller did nothing to reassure the cultural sector (of which you are a part, if you are reading this blog). BBC Arts Editor, Will Gompertz comments more generally on the speech -

“The arts budget will be cut come the next spending review; the Culture Secretary will not be pleading for special treatment. The sector as a whole has not made its case regarding the economic benefits it delivers to the country convincingly enough to the Treasury. Nor has the DCMS. She talked enthusiastically about the success of the arts sector in helping drive the economy forward by supporting - and being part of - the creative industries, and by providing a valuable magnet for tourism. I spoke to some attendees who wondered why, if she truly believed this to be the case, would she not argue for increased, not decreased investment in the sector in order to fully realise its potential?”

Whilst I understand that artists and small arts organisations working in arts and health may not have direct access to funding streams like the Arts and Humanities Research Council, it should still be noted that the focus of some of their work isn’t bound by rigid reductionist approaches. In particular, their recent call for research around the cultural value of the arts has never felt more important, or welcome.

Its two-year Cultural Value Project, will attempt to make a major contribution to how we think about the value of arts and culture to individuals and to society. Recent years have seen many attempts to capture that value in straightforward ways, not least in order to make the case to governments for public funding, but none have commanded widespread confidence. The AHRC decided that something more ambitious was needed and its priority lies in developing a much better understanding of arts and culture across the diverse ways that it is organised and experienced. You can read more about this by clicking on the very hand roll of cultural value above! 

Of Miller's speech, Shadow Culture Secretary, Harriet Harman said she supported attempts to persuade the Chancellor of the economic value of the arts and creative industries. "But she needs to persuade her education secretary as well, that for the sake of all children and the future of arts and creativity in this country, arts must be at the heart of the curriculum," she added, "and she needs to promote the fact that arts and creativity is about much more than the economy: they're about a sense of identity, of community and the potential of each and every individual."

To read more about this speech, click on the photograph above of the character Susan Wright, (a local busybody and misanthrope in the TV drama Broadchurch) played by the excellent Pauline Quirke.

So absolutely no mention whatsoever from me, that the rich legacy of the Olympics and Paralympics isn’t quite yet clear. And no mention from me doubly whatsoever on the expenses scandal that Ms Miller was embroiled in recently, or the £90,000 second home expenses she claimed for the house in which her parents lived. You can click on her face (just above) to find out more.

A Bird in a Gilded Cage

A Bird in a Gilded Cage is a song composed by Arthur J. Lamb (lyrics) and Harry Von Tilzer and was one of the most popular songs of 1900. This is a 1904 recording sung by Harry Anthony. I have written a new piece of work for the public arts think tank, ixia which explores some ideas around how we live and die post Francis Report. This is the first part of a two-part teaser for the paper. A Bird in a Gilded Cage will be published in May 2013. 

On Neuroscience and Strictly Bipolar

An interesting article on fiction and neuroscience in the Guardian this weekend from Charles Fernyhough, but in his quest for novels that explore neuroscience, isn’t the danger that the art form will just be a vehicle for teaching and not a work in its own right. Ian McEwan’s post 9/11 work of fiction, Saturday, comes under scrutiny, but is much more than a useful investigation of its central characters role as a neurosurgeon and offers us insights into power and powerlessness, fleeting happiness and perhaps, political apathy. A really interesting piece of writing. (to read, click on the centillion neurones and synapses acting with free-will, but with a common purpose, yet unheard by those in power - below)

In the same rag this weekend comes a taster from Darian Leader of his new book, Strictly Bipolar which extends contemporary thinking on public understanding of what it is to be bipolar, from the medical journal to the celebrity testimonies stacked up on high street bookshelves. Leader’s article is crammed with interesting detail including the quantitative factors that enable you to qualify for your diagnosis, which he eloquently argues, miss the point. He discusses the first hand accounts of people affected by both mania and depression and with a diagnosis that once applied to less than 1% of the population having risen to around 25% of Americans and 5% of people in the UK, he suggests that we are ignoring individual biographies.

Commenting: “Medical staff with little time on their hands to explore the exact circumstances of the manic episode or the depression may opt for a purely pharmaceutical response” […] “We live in an age that pays lip service to history, yet which continually undermines the ties we have to the past. The narrative of human lives is more or less absent in healthcare economies, where symptoms are seen as problems to be treated locally, rather than as signs that something is wrong at a more fundamental level.”

Interesting and deeply engaging work. Click on the sublime Spike Milligan for more info.

CULTURE CHANGE: ART, ADDICTION AND THE RECOVERY AGENDA

Wednesday 15th May 2013 15:00 – 17:30

Recovery is the new orthodoxy in the field of substance misuse in the UK and for the first time it is an explicit goal of treatment. Recovery is contested both as a concept and as a policy objective and the UK evidence base is currently limited. This seminar presents initial interpretations from a Wellcome Trust funded project called ADDICT. Developed by Portraits of Recovery, a socially engaged visual arts charity based in Manchester, ADDICT is an interdisciplinary research project exploring processes of recovery. It is delivered as a collaboration between artists, social and biomedical scientists, treatment agencies and people in recovery. The project uses socially engaged arts both as a form of engagement as well as a mode of inquiry into recovery. 

In the project International Lens Based Artist Melanie Manchot is working collaboratively with people at differing stages of recovery in London, Liverpool, Manchester and Oxford over a six month period. Portraiture as dialogue is the main conceptual premise. The arts practice is accompanied by a series of interdisciplinary discussions and two visual imaging matrices. These are used as different devices for understanding what emerges through the practice as well as exploring the subject recovery.

Prior to the seminar will be convening a Visual Matrix which will give attendees a direct experience of one of the methods being used in the project. The Visual Matrix is simply a form of discussion, where participants can share images, feelings, thoughts and dreams without the need to explain, describe, justify or argue ideas and points of view. Please contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you on the day.

Visual Matrix 3:00-4:00pm  Harrington Building 338

Seminar 4:00-5.30pm Harrington Building 337

Both are free and open to all. Refreshments provided.    

To confirm a place please email: socialwork@uclan.ac.uk

Clore Social Leadership Programme (UK)

The Clore Duffield Foundation has announced that its 2014 Social Leadership Programme will open for applications on the 29th April 2013.  During 2014, the Foundation will be offering 20 Fellowships to exceptional individuals who have the potential to take on a significant leadership role in the wider social sector.  A number of these will be Specialist Fellowships, which are funded by particular organisations to target specific groups or address particular needs. In the past, bursaries of up to £20,000 have been available to help train and develop a new generation of leaders for the third sector in the UK. The Fellowship can be undertaken intensively over 12 months (the full-time option), or part-time, over a period of up to 24 months.

The closing date for applications will be the 10th June 2013. Read more at: http://www.cloresocialleadership.org.uk/news.aspx?id=51 

Wellcome Trust Small Arts Awards 

The Wellcome Trust has announced that the next application deadline under its Small Arts Awards is the 28th June 2013. The Small Arts Awards provides grants of up to £30,000 to projects that engage the public with biomedical science through the arts. http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Public-engagement/Funding-schemes/Arts-Awards/index.htm 

Grants to Help New, Innovative Visual Arts Projects 

The Elephant Trust has announced that the next deadline for applications is the 10th June 2013. The Trust offers grants to artists and for new, innovative visual arts projects based in the UK. The Trust's aim is to make it possible for artists and those presenting their work to undertake and complete projects when confronted by lack of funds. The Trust supports projects that develop and improve the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the fine arts. Priority is now being given to artists and small organisations and galleries who should submit well argued, imaginative proposals for making or producing new work or exhibitions. Arts Festivals are not supported. The Trust normally awards grants of up to £2,000, but larger grants may be considered. Read more at: http://www.elephanttrust.org.uk/docs/theapplication.html 

European Integration Fund 

The UK Border Agency has announced that it is now accepting applications for funding under the European Integration Fund (EIF).  A total of £31 million is available to support innovative projects that support the integration of third-country nationals of different social, cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds within the UK. The EIF is aimed at projects assisting third-country nationals who have a potential route to legal settlement in the UK, to fulfil conditions of residence and integrate into British society.  Applications will be accepted from NGOs, charities, academic institutions, central and local government, intergovernmental organisations, limited companies and any partnership made up of these organisations.  The minimum EIF grant that can be applied for is £200,000 per project; there is no maximum amount that must be applied for. Projects can last a maximum of twenty-four months depending on the start date. The fund will run until February 2014 and the next losing date for applications is the 10th June 2013. Read more at: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsfragments/76-eif 

Collective Encounters: Youth Theatre Director

Collective Encounters is a north Liverpool based theatre company specialising in using theatre as a tool for social change. Our youth theatre programme is now in its eighth year and we are seeking to employ a Youth Theatre Director to lead on all aspects of delivery. Our youth theatre programme involves a regular youth theatre as well as significant outreach provision in settings used by marginalised and hard to reach young people. The new Youth Theatre Director will have at least two years experience of working within a theatre for social change context, ideally with young people.

The contract is offered on a 4 day a week basis and the salary is £20, 160. This salary is subject to tax and national insurance contributions. The contract is offered on a 2 year fixed term basis.

For more information and an application pack please contact Anna Rymer on 0151 291 3887 or e mail info@collective-encounters.org.uk.

Deadline for applications 9thMay 2013. Interviews will be held 13thMay 2013. This post is financially support by Children in Need. Collective Encounters is an equal opportunities employer.

...and finally, a Brilliant and Blistering Blog
I’d like to recommend Mike White’s recent blog posting on the Centre for Medical Humanities in Durham. In this new piece of writing, he questions the sometimes superficial re-branding of organisations in the name of self-aggrandisement. Powerful and relevant work Mike. CLICK HERE

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Depression in People with Parkinson’s Disease

By Dr Mizrab Khan MRCPsych Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, United Kingdom

Arshya Vahabzadeh, M.D. Resident Psychiatrist, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine Follow @VahabzadehMD

Since April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month, we wanted to discuss its connection to clinical depression.

Parkinson’s and Mental Health

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and progressive neuropsychiatric condition that affects more than one million Americans, with over 60,000 people being diagnosed every year. People with Parkinson’s often develop physical symptoms such as tremors at rest, stiffness, and a general slowing of movement.

Today, there’s a better understanding of the psychiatric and mental health concerns of people with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease affects several parts of the brain connected to control of mood. This may cause depression and other mental illnesses that harm the quality of life of people with Parkinson’s disease.

Depression in People with Parkinson’s

People with Parkinson’s disease often suffer from clinical depression (more than one third of individuals). Depressive symptoms include apathy as well as changes in sleep, appetite, and self-esteem. It’s far more than feeling sad or “blue” after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Studies show that clinical depression may even come before the development of physical symptoms of Parkinson’s. Becoming depressed is also thought to be independent of the physical symptoms, with some people with mild Parkinson’s developing severe mood symptoms. Detecting the depression may be more difficult in Parkinson’s disease because there’s an overlap between the signs of depression and the physical symptoms of Parkinson’s.

If someone with Parkinson’s disease is increasingly apathetic with changes in mood, sleep, appetite, or low self-esteem, then he or she should see a doctor for a psychiatric assessment. People with Parkinson’s are at a higher risk of suicidal thoughts and actions, so it’s important to pay close attention to these warning signs and seek a mental health evaluation.

Can Depression in Parkinson’s Disease be Treated?

Yes, just as depression can be treated for those without Parkinson’s, depression in people with Parkinson’s disease can be improved using both psychological and medication treatments. However, a personalized treatment plan should be created, and any antidepressant medication should be prescribed by a physician who is aware of the other medications that are commonly used in Parkinson’s disease. Ongoing research will help determine the best method to treat this depression.  

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Caring for dementia patients: what's best?

We are regularly bombarded with news stories about the aging population and inevitable increase in people with dementia (44% predicted increase by 2021 in Powys), and I wondered what services were available in North Powys. Just a short walk from where I am based, here at Ponthafren in Newtown, is the Fan Gorau older people’s assessment unit, a modern compact building based in Newtown hospital grounds. The unit allows a short term admission of people over 65 who need an assessment in order to provide future care, be it at home or a suitable home that is able to meet the individual’s needs. The focus is on people with dementia and related illnesses whilst those experiencing mental distress because of depression or schizophrenia, for example, are cared for through The Redwoods Centre at Shrewsbury Hospital.

A few days ago I met two of the staff at the unit – Nicki Sayce, Memory Clinic Nurse and Julie Jones, Ward Manager. I wanted to find out more about what is actually provided at Fan Gorau, and I had heard there were some changes in the way Memory Clinic services were being delivered. (You can find out more about Memory Clinics here).

Julie and Nicki are clearly passionate about the work they do, providing support not only to the people staying at Fan Gorau but their families. “Husbands and wives of those at the unit are often left at home without their partner for the first time in many years which can make it very difficult.”  There are support mechanisms in place, be that The Alzheimer’s Society locally, or the Dementia Advisor Heather Lewis (based at Welshpool), but it can still be tough.

People are assessed and diagnosed initially by doctors when referred, and all efforts are made to admit them to Fan Gorau. However, occasionally people may have to be admitted elsewhere, such as Wrexham, or even further afield. The staff explained that “Fan Gorau is a small assessment unit and relatives need to be aware that once the assessment process is completed, then the unit does not provide long term care. If the individual is not able to return home then care placements need to be made, potentially in a home which is not the first choice whilst a place is awaited in that first choice home.”

The new initiative I had heard about was the creation of a Memory Clinic nurse post. Whilst the move to provide these services in North Powys is excellent news, and in line with the Welsh Government's dementia action plan, it is just one post. In South Powys there is apparently a whole team providing this service.

I gave an update recently on the new Home Treatment Team in North Powys (again, a case of catching up with the South), and both Nicki and Julie spoke enthusiastically about the need for an equivalent service for older people with dementia. (The new HTT will provide crisis support for older people with mental health conditions but not dementia). They believe that many people with dementia should continue to live at home with their families if a strong support network is in place, including crisis support as required. However, resources for the service are focused on the inpatient service with nothing spare to resource a community service.

The irony is that in 2009 the local community fought to keep Fan Gorau open when it was threatened with closure. The Accident and Emergency Unit in the main hospital building at Newtown had already been lost… and instinct seems to keep people fighting for buildings… but listening to Julie and Nicki I had to wonder -  perhaps the best outcome for people with dementia and their families lies in developing more community based services…?

Increasingly mental health and dementia services in North Powys are focussing on community rather than inpatient services - including a Young Onset Dementia post and a new Senior Practitioner post. And then there’s the new Home Treatment Team. Should this trend continue? What do you think?

Eno - Ono - Oh No

Brian Eno and 77 Million Paintings  

A couple of weeks ago, I had the call from the BBC to be interviewed for the Radio 4 flagship news programme, Today. The story was embargoed until broadcast, so of course, I could’t really share my mounting excitement!

It emerged that Brian Eno had produced some new work for a hospital in Hove and they wanted me to comment on it and talk more widely about the field. First thoughts were - my mind-set is more around public health, wellbeing, participation and democracy - second thoughts were - all publicity for the field is good publicity. So off I went to Media City primed to talk about all things arts and health - from the conference in Bristol, to the National Alliance, and armed to the hilt with anecdotes and evidence. 

The Today Programme health correspondent Jane Dreaper was delightful, welcoming and had done her research, and we spoke for ages, recoding snippets of conversation that I hoped would be a helpful contribution. There’s no denying Eno’s place in art and culture, so it was good to be thinking about work that is not only generative and visually lush, but that conjoined visual imagery alongside music.

You can get an idea of the type of work this is from the above video, but this isn't the actual work.

That the work was in a private hospital*, did come as a bit of a blow - but Jane and I talked about the NHS and how the arts add something to the quality of patient experience within health settings and of course, I waxed lyrical about the potential of the arts and design in the lives of people with dementia, particularly my ongoing collaboration with designer, Darren Browett. We discussed quality of experience in light of the Francis Report and that work goes beyond the ‘icing on the cake’ of healthcare, and of how the small-scale, but beautifully designed Maggie’s Centres transform people’s experience of serious illness.

Thankfully I had clinical research in mind and some of the evidence from the literature around pain management, reductions in anxiety and stress and of course, what every NHS manager wants: reduced patient stays. With a relatively confident interview under my belt, I returned to the reality of MMU and waited.

Embargoed until the Thursday to coincide with the Eno launch, the feature was dropped following the news of the fertiliser factory explosion in the US. I was told it would be rescheduled for the Friday and when the allotted moment came, I waited with baited breath - what on earth would they use? Then in those last glorious seconds following Eno’s anecdotes and passing conversation with someone being treated for cancer, an ‘excited’ blogger was given his fifteen minutes of fame - well 15 seconds to be precise! You can hear Jane's report by clicking on the early Eno below.

eno

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22212531

So, what would I have talked about, if I’d have managed to squeeze in an extra couple of minutes - or better still - had the opportunity to share what it is the arts/health agenda is all about?

Being a great one for preparing, I’d scribbled key points that I’d somehow hoped to cover and I want to share some of the things we talked about here.

I shared the work of the National Alliance for Arts, Health and Wellbeing and how we relate to other international networks. I had exemplars from the region (I am always impressed by my colleagues in the NW) and gave a plug to the international conference in Bristol this June. But more than all of this, I tried to plant the idea of arts and culture being somehow central to how we think about health and wellbeing in the 21st century. I wanted to sew some seeds around primary care, public health and the medical humanities - and I wanted to suggest that some of the more interesting research around music and health, demonstrates that it is ‘self selected’ music that seems to have potency in clinical settings - and this doesn’t even touch on what we know about participation.

Brian Eno is an advocate for long-term thinking and if his contribution to the field is truly something stripped of ego, his deeply considered and beautiful work is appropriate to heath settings and could perhaps suggest a move from passive background music to patient controlled environments. You can read a fuller interview by clicking on the older Eno below. 

ENO

There’s always a danger that a big name from the art world might distract from the story that we are trying to tell: that creativity, culture and the arts are a potent force for health and wellbeing. Eno’s 77 Million Paintings for Montefiore and The Quite Room are a different breed to the off-the-peg prescribed mural of Michael Craig-Martin’s, ‘Kids’ in Oxford’s, John Radcliffe Hospital. For me though, the kind of immersive experience that Eno has created should be accessible to everyone, and although the Montefiore** supports 35% NHS patients, I hope that Eno won't see this as a one-off and might want to explore what impact the work has on people and potentially look to an NHS setting for future collaborations.

Over this last decade, we’ve seen some serious investment in the NHS estate and rich art/design collaborations, but we’re only just beginning to enter a new age of austerity and new political ideologies that inevitably question previous government thinking. It seems a lifetime ago that the Department of Health, in A Prospectus for Arts and Health established a policy commitment to the arts, and with a foreword by the then Minister of State for Delivery and Quality, Department of Health, Andy Burnham MP and Minister for Culture, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, David Lammy MP. Let’s remind ourselves of what the very first page declared.

“The Departmen’s policy is that the arts have a major contribution to make to wellbeing, health, healthcare provision and healthcare environments, to the benefit of patients, service users, carers, visitors and staff, as well as to communities and the NHS as a whole.”

As inequalities in health and wellbeing seem to be widening, perhaps health settings might be one of the few places that people marginalised by ill health associated with poverty and reduced opportunities, might encounter beautiful and challenging art. Maybe these encounters offer not only fleeting moments of wellbeing, but an introduction to something beyond the tedium and monotony of functional day-to-day survival, giving those working in these settings, the opportunity for meaningful dialogue and exchange. Cultural inequalities take a bizarre twist when you think that, as the NME reported, Eno's compositions wouldn't be available to the general public, with his people stating: "It's true to say that 'The Quiet Room For Montefiore' is an album that can only be heard in the Montefiore Hospital." 

                                   Oh No!

So for my 15 seconds of airtime, what did I achieve? Aside from some introductions to interesting people in the BBC and further afield - and some very kind email - for me at least, it has made me revisit some of the earlier efforts of colleagues in field and the wealth of research that exists that can be built on, and which illustrates the evolutionary nature of the field: a very rich and very diverse thing.

Of course a peak-time feature like this on national radio, is a rare opportunity for sharing ideas more widely, and with an audience of around 7 million, its an opportunity we should embrace. I’m thankful for my small part in it and only hope it opens more opportunity for more debate.

ONO

Two PhD Studentships

The Psychosocial Research Unit invites applications for two part-time PhD studentships approved within the School of Social Work at the University of Central Lancashire. The studentship is tenable for up to 6 years for a PhD (via MPhil route) [subject to satisfactory progress]. The studentship will cover the cost of tuition fees at UK/EU rates. The successful applicant will start on 1 October 2013.

Applicants should bring a psychosocial orientation to their work. Subjects we are particularly interested in at present include the field of socially engaged arts practice, addiction recovery, embodiment, psychosocial wellbeing and psychosocial visual methods. Many of our projects are embedded in community and third sector settings. However, we very much welcome applications from candidates with other interests. Full details at:

http://www.uclan.ac.uk/research/study/studentships.php 

* Late News: Did you know that the Montefiore Hospital offer a wide range of cosmetic procedures and you 'can experience state of the art body sharpening and skin tightening? This April, they'll be holding two, yes TWO complimentary cosmetic surgery events, where you can ask as many questions as you like!

** Even later news: Montefiore hires TOP AWARD WINNING CHEF, Mark Haddock - (sorry Hancock). James Dempster, the Commercial Manager at the Montefiore Hospital, said:  “We are making every effort to ensure our patients are as comfortable as possible.  With our theatre-style*** open kitchen and a sushi-bar, food plays a key role in the hospital."

*** good grief - this gives a slightly macabre slant on harvest festival! 

Thank you...C.P.