The arts can make hospital spaces truly special. Our goal is to create welcoming, positive, and inspiring environments that support patient care and go beyond expectations.
We work with architects to include art in every part of a new hospital’s design, from gardens and interiors to signs and custom artworks. By starting with an Arts Strategy early in the planning, we can make the most of budgets and create a clear vision for each hospital.
From the start, we involve staff and patients to create a unique Arts Strategy for each project. This helps us design healing spaces that feel personal and meaningful to the communities who will use them.
For each project, we create an ambitious plan to commission art with strong, thoughtful themes. We work with top professional artists and involve staff and patients in every step of the process.
Enhancing the Healing Environment programme (NHS Estates, Department for Health and the Kings Fund) found that outcomes for art and design include:
- improvement in the ways in which people relate to each other and navigate buildings
- changed ambience, positive distraction and an increased sense of calm
- positive impact on staff and patient wellbeing
- improvement in staff morale and retention
- innovative approaches to patient involvement
We are currently delivering work for Cambridge Children’s Hospital (opens in a new tab) and Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (opens in a new tab).
Creative engagement
We are trying a new way to work with patients and staff during consultations. We bring in top creative experts to help us talk about different topics by making and creating together. Creative activities can...
- make the consultation process more accessible and inclusive
- be a positive, enjoyable and meaningful experience for participants in its own right
- deepen our understanding of the needs of people with lived experience
- help to communicate non-verbal information to the design team and enhance the results of the consultation
- lead to genuine co-production
Sometimes it's hard to know where to begin with a subject as emotive as school, and I've found that the creative tasks have helped me vocalise the issues [we] faced and how things could be improved for children in the future.
Parent, creative engagement workshop with CUH Arts and Cambridge Children’s Hospital schools workstream
Get involved
Interested to find our more or take part in future projects? Contact Ellen from the CUH arts team!