Create.Connect.Unwind: A creative response to the pandemic for NHS staff well-being | Intellect Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Journal of Applied Arts & Health
  4. Volume 14, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 14, Issue 2
  • ISSN: 2040-2457
  • E-ISSN: 2040-2465

Abstract

This article presents a reflection on the hurdles faced by arts and health organizations during England’s COVID-19 lockdown in 2020–21 through the work of the arts team at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), Lime Arts. As the pandemic hit, Lime risked being shut down, their premises reallocated and staff redeployed. Convinced that, more than ever, frontline health professionals might benefit from creative workshops, Lime piloted a six-month innovative programme of online creative workshops for MFT staff. Lime then partnered with the Employee Health and Wellbeing Service to take the online workshops across the Trust, creating a new project called Create.Connect.Unwind. The pilot phase ended in May 2022 with a Creativity and Wellbeing Festival at Manchester Royal Infirmary. The authors reflect on this two-year project, considering in retrospect the team response, the participant response and the artwork created as well as the creative perspective behind the project.

Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • British Academy Innovation Fellowship (Award BAIF\220010)
© 2023 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jaah_00135_7
2023-06-22
2024-04-29
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Antrobus, Raymond. ( 2014;), ‘ The first time I wore hearing aids. ’, Chill Pill Shorts, YouTube , 14 November, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G9dy8nCbuE. Accessed 29 September 2022.
  2. BMA ( 2020;), ‘ The mental health and wellbeing of the medical workforce: Now and beyond COVID-19. ’, British Medical Association , https://www.bma.org.uk/media/2475/bma-COVID-19-and-nhs-staff-mental-health-wellbeing-report-may-2020.pdf. Accessed 31 January 2022.
  3. Daykin, Norma. ( 2020), Arts, Health and Well-Being: A Critical Perspective on Research, Policy and Practice, London:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Farmer, Paul. ( 2019;), ‘ Mental health in the workplace. ’, RCN Magazines, 17 October, https://www.rcn.org.uk/magazines/Activists/2019/Oct/Mental-health-and-the-workplace. Accessed 23 February 2023.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Fleetwood-Smith, Rebecka. ( 2021;), ‘ Rethinking creative research methods in response to COVID-19: Creating a remote research kit. ’, Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 12:3, pp. 271–88.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Ford, Megan. ( 2021;), ‘ Nursing Times survey reveals state of nurses’ mental health one year into pandemic. ’, Nursing Times, 31 March, https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/mental-health/nursing-times-survey-reveals-state-of-nurses-mental-health-one-year-into-pandemic-31-03-2021/. Accessed 25 January 2022.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Govoni, Devon,, Ramirez, Kelvin, and Rubesin, Hilary. ( 2021;), ‘ Adjusting to the pandemic: Remote support for professionals working with asylum seekers. ’, Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 12:3, pp. 259–69.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Lime Podcast ( 2020;), ‘ Hospital Arts Social Club. ’, 20 October, https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/lime-online-hospital-arts-social-club/id1536727932. Accessed 12 December 2022.
  9. Parkinson, Clive. ( 2021), A Social Glue, Manchester:: Manchester Institute for Arts, Health and Social Change (MIAHSC);, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b21507055b02cde6cd6a2ea/t/635a6bb39d26013668913df7/1666870212120/A+Social+Glue_Full+Report_Digital_Oct22.pdf. Accessed 3 January 2023.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Rana, Mah. ( 2022;), ‘ Well-making: Understanding what works from lived experience. ’, Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 13:3, pp. 373–81.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Robertson, Sally. ( 2019;), ‘ The arts play an important role in improving well-being, according to WHO report. ’, News Medical Life Sciences , 12 November, https://www.news-medical.net/news/20191112/The-arts-play-an-important-role-in-improving-well-being-according-to-a-WHO-report.aspx. Accessed 3 January 2023.
  12. Walton, Matthew,, Murray, Esther, and Christian, Michael D.. ( 2020;), ‘ Mental health care for medical staff and affiliated healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. ’, The European Heart Journal, 9, pp. 241–47.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Winkcup, Alex. ( 2021), Lime/MFT Staff Arts Wellbeing Pilot Project Spring 2021 Evaluation Report, unpublished report .
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Wiltshire, Kim, and Prescott, Dawn. ( 2023;), ‘ Create.Connect.Unwind: A creative response to the pandemic for NHS staff well-being. ’, Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 14:2, pp. 257–69, https://doi.org/10.1386/jaah_00135_7
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/jaah_00135_7
Loading
Create.Connect.Unwind: A creative response to the pandemic for NHS staff well-being
Journal of Applied Arts & Health 14, 257 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1386/jaah_00135_7
/content/journals/10.1386/jaah_00135_7
/content/journals/10.1386/jaah_00135_7
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): COVID-19; embedding arts in healthcare; frontline NHS staff; Lime Arts; lockdown; Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error