Performing Medicine in Wales

In collaboration with Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board (ABMU), and with support from Arts Council Wales, we are excited to be developing a Performing Medicine programme in Wales.

There is growing interest in Arts in Health in Wales as highlighted by the recent Memorandum of Understanding between the Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh NHS Confederation. There is also recognition of the importance of self-care and NHS Wales’ Working Differently, Working Together framework highlights the importance of staff wellbeing and stresses the importance of fully supporting and engaging staff in delivering excellent care.

In March 2018, as part of an initial scoping project which is looking at how to establish Performing Medicine in Swansea, our director Suzy Willson ran two introductory sessions at ABMU’s Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Unit to give staff an opportunity to engage with the training and give feedback to shape a pilot project. These were practical and active sessions covering skills including self care, wellbeing and communication.

We received extremely positive feedback from the staff with 100% of respondents stating they would recommend the course to their colleagues. A steering group of ABMU and Performing Medicine staff has been formed to develop this work and plan a pilot project. We hope this pilot will help catalyse this interest, and spearhead a new programme of arts based education for health professionals in Wales.