"In 1959 an almoner named Sheridan Russell hung a painting on a wall of a London Hospital, Sheridan passionately believed in the healing potential of artists creative endeavours, despite criticism and dismissal he was determined to enliven as many hospitals as possible, supported by the Royal Academy’s Roger de Grey and a grant from the Nuffield Foundation the work started to be recognised as beneficial and Paintings in Hospitals was born.

65 years later Paintings in Hospitals is still the only charity with its own collection of artwork, over 3,000 pieces available for display through a loans programme for the health and wellbeing of millions of patients, carers, hospital staff and communities.

We have recognised the changing environment for healthcare and the personalisation agenda and have now extended our work into community settings, including libraries,  breaking down social barriers, collaborating with refugees, those who have English as a second language, the socially isolated and those at the end-of-life stage, helping them to reminisce, story tell and use our artworks as a distraction, while encouraging their own artistic endeavours.

At Paintings in Hospitals our art is not valued intrinsically, but through its impact, where has it been displayed who has benefited from it and how. If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to look at the artworks we have displayed here tonight, each has a story and my colleagues will be happy to discuss with you their journey and impact.  

Recently a colleague of mine was conducting an activity session to choose artworks for a hospital through a drop in event for hospital staff, patients and visitors.  Around lunchtime the senor A&E consultant came into the canteen and she wondered whether to approach her to get involved. She did and the consultant informed her that she’d had a terrible morning and a worse afternoon was to come and that 20 minutes looking at our artwork would be wonderful.   

Our work in care homes has included our digital Beautiful Planet project with 160 care homes and 8,800 residents taking part. The project included upskilling care home coordinators in the delivery of art projects and the creation of a new suite of engagement activities.  We believe that all of our projects should have a legacy whether through training as this initiative did or creating connections to local artists to carry on our work after we’ve left . After this project I received an email from a Manchester Care Home letting me know that they had for the first time taken their 80-year-olds in their minibus to an art gallery, they had never been and following our project the residents wanted more art.

We have been honoured to work with Sue Ryder day hospices.  If you have seen our short film Power of a Painting you will have been moved by the participant who admitted that after being diagnosed, she shut down and didn’t let people in. She summed up the project by saying “I opened up and it changed my whole life. They give me six months to live and it’s been 18 months now, I must be doing something right”.

At Paintings in Hospitals we are humbled that our work has such an impact.

I would like to pay tribute to The All-Party Parliamentary Group, on Arts, Health and Wellbeing and the National Centre for Creative Health for their Review showing how policy can embrace creative health, we fully endorse their recommendations. The sector has always recognised what needs to be done, but there has never been infrastructure in place to support sustainable delivery. Paintings in Hospitals rely totally on funding through gifts from foundations and grant aid and survives on a year-to-year basis through the generosity of this and individual benefactors. Strategic long-term funding is needed in the sector for sustainable delivery, not project by project funding. It is imperative that government recognises the worth of investing in creative health, wrap it up in jargon if you will – return on investment, invest to save, but just act.

Everyone in this room is privileged not by titles or letters after our names but by the fact we recognise how embracing creative health makes for a better and healthier society.  Individual efforts won’t work but together everyone in this room can make it happen. Paintings in Hospitals stands by ready to work with you and deliver.

May I ask you to raise your glasses to Paintings in Hospitals 65^th Anniversary year."