This Special Study Unit highlights the role of arts in healthcare, a relatively new subject but one that new doctors need to be aware of, more and more healthcare professionals are taking a more holisitic approach to patient care, and the healthcare environment is increasingly seen as an important factor in both the patient experience and staff working lives.
To give fourth year medical students experience in this field Zest is working in partnership with the Peninsula Medical School to offer students the opportunity to work on a project improving the healthcare environment.
In the Autumn of 2006 the students looked at the area surrounding the Accident and Emergency Department, (A&E), in particular the waiting area outside the Fracture Clinic, an internal corridor where patients lying on trolleys sometimes have to wait for some time looking up at a fluorescent lit ceiling, and patients of all ages come along from A&E for x-rays.
A range of different options wasconsidered including a more appropriate colour scheme, landscape scenes and lightboxes in the ceiling. The different options were evaluated in the spring of 2007 with planned implementation of the scheme to take place late in 2007.
Improving the Healthcare Environment
