Nottingham shares prestigious award for national NHS arts project
A major project capturing the stories of NHS staff in Nottingham and across the country to commemorate 75 years of the NHS has won a national award.
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) was one of 19 Trusts that came together as the National Arts in Hospital Network (NAHN) to create the Our Stories project.
Now NAHN has scooped the Arts and Health Award in the 2024 Royal Society for Public Health’s prestigious Health & Wellbeing Awards.
Each Trust in the network invited staff to share their stories, which were curated into an extraordinary live national performance by acclaimed Director Kwame Kwei-Armah in November 2023. Professional performers joined NHS staff on stage to bring their stories to life in a heart-warming and poignant celebration
“For me, it was one of the most memorable events at NUH,” said Vignesh Murali, Deputy Divisional Manager in Clinical Support, who took part in the project. “A group of us that had never met came together to share our love for performing arts and tell our stories in a way that was unique to NUH. The national show was a great buzz and we all had a fantastic time – we’ve all remained in touch ever since.”
Vignesh’s story was made into a poem – The Motown Dancer – and set to music thanks to a series of staff workshops with poet Matt Miller and illustrator Tomekah George in summer 2023.
Composer Jimmy Power then set a selection of poems to dance and music, Next Door Dance, an all-female city-based group, choreographed a routine, and a performance was held at City Hospital ahead of the national extravaganza.
Vignesh added: “We were very humbled that our project was shortlisted in NUH’s People First Recognition Awards. Although we did not win, we really enjoyed being there together.”
Elaine Tomba, Quality and Patient Safety Administrator, agreed: “Us all coming together to create our performance, it was a wonderful thing and I enjoyed every moment. Being shortlisted in the People First Awards was special too - we may not have won but we felt like winners.”
Other NUH staff who took part were: Anne Jowett, Beverley Holland, Tincy Dimel, Rehan Mosafeer, Andrea West, Sophie West, and Alice Faircy
The project was co-ordinated by our award-winning Arts at NUH programme and funded by Nottingham Hospitals Charity.
“To win a national award is great for Arts at NUH, who do amazing work here for all our patients and colleagues,” said Vignesh. “Their work often goes under the radar but plays a huge role in maintaining the wellbeing of staff and improving our patients’ experience. It was fantastic to be part of the project, and I will cherish the memory forever.”
Chief Executive of NUH Anthony May said: “Having watched the performance, I can see why our colleagues won this award. I was very impressed with the way in which the group came together, and with the quality of their work. I should like to congratulate them on behalf of the Trust.”
Nigel Gregory, Chief Executive of Nottingham Hospitals Charity, said: "We are extremely proud to help fund the Arts at NUH programme. Art has been proven to improve wellbeing for both patients and staff in hospital settings, and we were so pleased to be able to help bring the Our Stories project to NUH, to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS. It's wonderful to know that this project helped bring together our hardworking NHS staff, to share their stories and give their morale a boost, and we're delighted that it has won a national award.”
You can view the live performance here: YouTube and read NUH staff poems here: Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust - ONHS
Find out more about NUH’s award-winning Arts at NUH programme here: Arts at NUH | NUH