Art at Frimley Health Charity

Our Art Programme is aimed at improving the visual environment for patients of all ages, staff and visitors. The Arts Committee focuses on engagement with both the local and wider communities. We have recently worked with local artists, art students and camera clubs on a variety of projects. This will continue at all sites within the Trust.

Donations to support our Arts Charity Fund allows us to enhance our healing environments within our health care environment. These are through artist commissions, purchasing of artwork, participatory arts activities and music in hospitals.

‘Out of each ending comes new beginning and hope’. Organ Donation Art Memorial; Farnborough Sixth Form College. 2018

Creative Health can help improve patients lives’, and we are working with more wards to do this.

RECENT CLINICAL STUDIES SHOW THAT PLACING ARTWORKS WITHIN A HEALTHCARE ENVIRONMENT CAN;

• reduce levels of anxiety
• reduce levels of depression and stress
• reduce patient’s length of stay within the hospital
• reduce the use of some oral medications
• improve communication between patients and health care professionals.

Second 2020 Edition of our therapeutic colouring book has be launched across the trust

After the success of the first Trust colouring book in 2019, Frimley Health Arts and Farnborough College of Technology have created a second edition and bigger 18 page booklet. Published for our staff and patients across Frimley Park Hospital, Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospital.

Once inspired by a matron asking for colouring books, the Arts Manager, Emma Carr approached Farnborough College of Technology with a brief to design linear studies for patients and staff to colour in.

After presentations and consultations earlier this year with a new year group, 20 wonderful designs were submitted and a book was published by Frimley Health Charity in May.  The second edition colouring book has already been used in the dementia wards by the activity nurses and are proving to give the patients a form of communication, engagement and grounding.  Some have also been given to staff rooms as after the last book, the staff wanted to use them during their breaks to give them an element of calm and creative distraction.

Read more here

All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing

In 2015, the APPG launched a two year Arts, Health and Wellbeing Inquiry. The Inquiry Report, ‘Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing’, was launched in Parliament in July 2017. Evidence from the inquiry is used in this strategy.

“We firmly believe that the arts can be enlisted to assist in addressing a number of difficult and pressing policy challenges.   Access to green space and natural light improves our wellbeing and speeds our recovery from illness”.

Eden Garden at Wexham Park Hospital

Past Projects

Being in hospital can make you very anxious, so anything that cheers us up, takes our mind off the moment, the boredom and makes us feel like ourselves again can really help our mental health. The evidence shows us that art can help people feel better, and get better.

• We have developed and produced the trust’s first adult colouring book in collaboration with Farnborough College of Technology.
• Created artwork with local schools to celebrate the meaning of Organ Donation.
• Children’s playground designed and created to give all year round colour in a safe environment.
• Outside spaces enhanced across the sites with volunteer days.
• Ward enhancement — Improving the environment where care is given.
• Showcasing our people — staff photography exhibitions.