1. The NHS Review of Art and Health firmly endorses the importance of arts in health care. "There has been some debate about whether the NHS should invest in or be involved in arts and health, and in some cases this has made it hard to secure resources. We noted that historically in many cultures, arts, health and wellbeing were regarded as closely connected and complementary. This recognition, grounded in the understanding that health is a product of the whole person not just of medical treatment, lies at the heart of many of the successful approaches to engaging with the public and patients, as well as in providing positive support for staff. " It adds "In our view, spending on arts and health is and should be seen as a legitimate, integral part of health care and good staff management and support, and entirely appropriate for NHS activity and investment..." The report concludes "that local health communities know best how to use the arts in their own work, and it is for them to decide what they wish to fund and how, rather than being the subject of any central approach. Report of the Review of Arts and Health Working Group April 2007 Ref 7621 Paragraphs 12,14 & 15)" The Department rightly sees the initiative as lying with the local hospital and community who know best patients' needs and can judge value of different initiatives to serve the patient.

2. A novel arts in health programme for NHS hospitals has been launched by Poems in the Waiting Room (PitWR) to implement this Report. The registered charity has published quarterly since 1998, providing short poetry cards for patients mainly in NHS General Practice. The service is popular with over nine in ten poetry cards kept by patients. Selection of poetry and editorial policy is wholly patient-led.

3. The new scheme aims to extend the service to the NHS Hospital sector and to supply both poetry cards and poetry posters that can be endorsed as sponsored by each individual hospital, carrying a hospital's particular message so that they will be seen by patients as part of the hospital's own arts in health.

4. In a patient led service, art in health programmes need to be closely associated with the hospital and not be seen by staff and patients as centrally imposed. The PitWR scheme allows its popular poetry cards and a series of poetry posters to become part of the local hospital service - to become in effect the Hospital's own poetry cards and posters.

5. The standard bundle of poetry pamphlets suitable for a three doctor general practice is quite inadequate to meet the demand from NHS hospitals. Not only are patient flows heavier but waiting areas are numerous and widely dispersed. Requests for some 1500 or 2000 pamphlets per hospital are typical. Meeting such demand would rapidly exhaust PitWR's slender budget.

6. Under the PitWR Hospital's Own scheme, PitWR offers to print special copies of each quarter's poetry cards with information particular to the individual hospital. The lay out of PitWR poetry cards provides a news panel; this news panel can be adapted by each Hospital to print its own news or message. The proposal would thereby produce poetry cards specific for each hospital, tuned to carry a special hospital message. The scheme has been developed and piloted in conjunction with the Friends of Kingston Hospital. The face of each poetry card shows the Hospital as PitWR sponsor, such as Sponsor Friends of Kingston Hospital, with additional information for patients. Production of Hospital's own poetry cards provides a means of meeting the heavy demand from major hospitals.

7. A large number of poetry cards can be provided for each hospital quite economically as a run on from our main printing for General Practices. The costs are considerable reduced over those that would be incurred if the cards were printed from the start by each hospital, while the hospital benefits from the editorial content of the poetry cards. Also with this arrangement, costs per card diminish rapidly as numbers printed rise.

8. To support the programme, a donation to cover costs is needed for the scheme to be self-funding: the donation is provisionally estimated at some £275 for 1000 cards; £325 for 1500 cards; and, £350 for 2000. On this tariff, an annual donation of some £1,400 would ensure a supply of 2000 poetry cards specific to the hospital each quarter, or 8000 in four issues over the year. The offer will be specially attractive either to the NHS administration or, as at Kingston, to Hospital Friends. For the NHS administration, the scheme provides a chance to provide vital patient information while showing a human face of the NHS. For Hospital Friends, the scheme offers the opportunity to recruit new interest and to stimulate greater interest in the Friends' activities.

11. It is planned to offer a new series of posters twice a year. Series A of twelve poems is currently on offer. The poems are:

Contact Information

12. For further information on PitWR email pitwr@blueyonder.co.uk or write Michael Lee Editor PitWR PO Box 488 RICHMOND TW9 4SW for sample Poetry Cards and Poetry Poster.