Project title
Description of initiative
Espoo Hospital specialises in care for the elderly and in rehabilitation. It also provides support services for older people living at home. The hospital has 247 beds and employs more than 400 nursing and rehabilitation professionals, including one music therapist. Espoo Hospital also has a home hospital, a geriatrics outpatient clinic and a palliative care outpatient clinic. The health care and rehabilitation services provided by the hospital under primary health care are mainly intended for older people. Espoo Hospital has made a commitment to investing in art and culture, as this is seen as conducive to patient recovery, amongst other things. For instance, an extensive collection of artworks from EMMA, the Espoo Museum of Modern Art, are on display in the public premises and on the wards. In 2018, Espoo Hospital ran a project entitled ‘Art supporting recovery’, involving a lot of performers, music and dancing. Music therapy was given on the hospice ward to comfort family members, and an informal carers’ art group opened up new perspectives on their work as a morale booster. In 2020, Espoo Hospital received support for promoting art, culture and wellbeing from the City of Espoo’s well-being programme. The purpose of this project was to outline specific processes for the various wards, so that patients and employees would get used to regular activities and feel comfortable about participating in arts sessions. Artists with considerable experience in combining art and wellbeing were involved in the project. This eventually focused on one previously tried and tested activity and two pilot concepts: 1) the songdrawing method for psycho-geriatric and neurological patients; 2) a pilot of Music for Life by hospital musicians for patients on the infectious diseases ward and 3) a pilot of hospital clowns visiting adult patients on the wound care ward and the neurology ward.
Further information on the initiative
Themes: Culture and...
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Cultural field
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Sources of funding
Results, benefits, impact and lessons learnt
The projects implemented at Espoo Hospital have proved that engagement with the arts brightens up everyday hospital routines. Methods suitable for patients’ needs can be
developed through experience, information gathering and long-term processes. In ‘Promoting art, culture and well-being at Espoo Hospital’, patients gave feedback commending the project for “lifting spirits”, “joy” and “nice band rehearsal!”, while employees noted how the arts experiences affected patient behaviour: the patients were quick to engage in interaction, they were empowered and became inventive when encouraged by the artists interacting with them. The hospital clowns interacting with adult patients reported a feeling of mutual cultural awareness, allowing an unforced and natural interaction with older people. The projects also increased the understanding of hospital staff of how art and culture can enrich patients’ lives.