Walsall Arts into Health

We have been  working with NHS Walsall since 1994 to develop a broad and innovative programme of Arts into Health work. We have a management and development role for an extensive programme of bespoke projects that utilise a range of creative processes and approaches to

  • consult around local health needs,
  • promote key health messages,
  • provide interventions and
  • tackle health inequalities.

Participatory projects are designed to give local people the chance to explore and debate health issues in greater depth, and support them to make informed lifestlye choices around their health and wellbeing.

We find creative ways to enable people’s voices to be heard, so influencing the provision and delivery of services.

All our Arts Into Health work:

  • Is based on partnership
  • Has local people at the forefront of project development
  • Consults local people on their health needs and involves local people in decision-making processes to tackle health inequalities
  • Focuses on developing flexible and responsive multi-agency partnerships
  • Empowers communities and hard to reach groups
  • Connects with other programmes across culture, arts, education and health to ensure an innovative and coherent approach

We offer a service to partner organisations and other council departments to develop bespoke projects and manage programmes of arts into health work. These can range from one off workshops, large and small scale community events and longer term projects.
We offer advice to local people, artists and local organisations wanting to use creative processes within health as well as delivering and linking to artist training opportunities.

Our arts into health project work is developed through a ’themed’ approach undertaken by specialist development officers ensuring that the programme meets both national public health priorities and local health improvement plans.

Project work is developed through various partnerships with NHS Walsall, NHS Walsall Community Health, Walsall Hospital Trust, Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership, local Council departments as well as a number of external and voluntary sectory organisations.

Walsall’s Arts into Health work is supported by the Arts Council England- West Midlands which currently supports the development of the themed project work, strategic partnership and sub-regional developments. In addition the work also links into Communities for Health Programme funded by the Department of Health.

Over the years the partnership and programme of project delivery has been used as a model of good practice regionally and nationally and has led the development of sub regional work through the Black Country Arts Partnership.

 

Walsall Arts into Health case studies are currently highlighted on:

  • I&DeA Improvement and Development Agency: Case study ‘Arts to bridge the Health Gap’

http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=14341542

  • National Social Marketing Centre: ‘TAXI!’  Men’s Health Project

http://www.nsmcentre.org.uk/component/nsmccasestudy/?task=view&id=146&Itemid=42

  • Sex Education Forum: External Visitors and Esx and Relationship Education PDF Publication 2010

Pg.11 Case study A1: Creative arts small group size projects- meeting the needs of all children and young people

http://www.ncb.org.uk/pdf/SEF_External_visitors_and_SRE_10.pdf