Art and Hospitals

It took me a while to understand the photographs.  Close ups of faces with scribbles on them, some drawings, some with the whole face covered in writing.  It was right next to the revolving door at the exit of the NHS Expo conference, far away from the corporate sponsors and the stands of branded freebies and glossy brochures.  A simple stand of photographs and a small table with a few flyers.  It looked so lost in the corner so I wondered over.  Mike Papesch, an ENT surgeon, came and explained the project to me, which he worked on with the artist Emma Barnard.  Immediately after their consultation, patients were invited to have their portrait taken. They then drew or wrote on their portraits, expressing their thoughts and feelings.  The portraits show what patients are going through emotionally, through a snapshot of their hopes and fears.

The images are so powerful and so honest.  Mike explained how he had felt the consultations had gone, how surprised he was at some of images, and the insight he got into both his patients as people, and his own practice.   We discussed the reactions to the project from colleagues, which ranged from love or hate, to indifference.  I learnt more in the 10 minutes I spent looking at these photos and talking to Mike than I have done at any NHS conference.  Why wasn't this in the main conference site, where everyone had been for the last two days? They had been invited to exhibit at Expo but were only given this spot near the exit.  Unfortunately, this is the reality of an innovative idea with little funding and no corporate sponsorship, but it did make me reflect on the true purpose of the conference.  

These photos give an idea of what it feels like for that person at that moment in hospital.  It shows patients as people, with lives, loves, dreams, hopes, fears.  This is what it means to put patients at the centre, to give patients a voice.  These images encourage us to ask, listen, reflect, share and learn.  

 

Earlier in the day Helen Bevan described how true innovation happens at the edges of organisations.  How fitting that at the very edge of NHS Expo, there was the most innovative idea, the most though provoking, inspiring and uplifting project.  Instead of telling healthcare professionals and patients what to do and think, it calmly and humbly showed people's emotions when they are at their most vulnerable, and made me think.

Sorry about the poor quality of these photographs, they do not do it justice.  You can see more about the project here