Creative Health Champions
Creative Health* can contribute to tackling health inequalities, prevention and person-centred care, enabling delivery of the four aims of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs): to reduce inequalities, improve outcomes in population health and health care, productivity and value for money and supporting social and economic development.
*Creative health activities can include visual and performing arts, crafts, film, literature, cooking and creative activities in nature; creative health approaches may involve creative and innovative ways to approach health and care services, co-production, education and workforce development.
The Role of Creative Health Champions
Our Creative Health Champions network is steadily growing, and we now have 68 champions who are based in 30 of the 42 ICSs. They are senior, Board level leaders from ICBs (Integrated Care Boards), Local Authorities, NHS Trusts and other Health Providers. They are an important network for supporting the delivery of our partnership work with NHS England and ICSs to embed creative health at a systems, place and neighbourhood level. We have been developing a toolkit drawing on the experience of four ICSs, which is now being used to spread the learning with ICSs across the country. Case studies provided by our Creative Health Champions are used to make the case for creative health when spreading this learning.
Creative Health Champions Case Studies can be found HERE >>
We would like to grow the Creative Health Champion network and encourage networks of Creative Health Champions within ICSs. We want to inspire and support our Creative Health Champions to develop policies and strategies for partnership working across arts, culture, health and wellbeing to help deliver improved health and wellbeing for communities. We provide tools for support and help our Creative Health Champion's connect with others, in the hope that existing members can recommend and encourage others to join from organisations within their ICS.
We are looking for Champions who have the following roles:
- Board Member of an Integrated Care Board
- Board Member of a Health Care Provider Board, e.g. Acute, Community, Mental Health Trust, or other
- Primary Care Network Clinical Director
- Local Authority Public Health (Director/Head of) Adult Social Care or Children’s Services
- Elected councillors who are portfolio holders for Health, Social Care, Children's Services, and/or represent Health and Wellbeing Boards, and Metro Mayors
- In another position with ability to directly influence embedding Creative Health in ICSs, e.g. within a Combined Authority
explore | connect | advocate | develop
1. Explore
To investigate what is already happening in your area.
2. Connect
To make connections with local organisations and individuals who can support this work, including Creative Health Champions in other organisations local to you.
3. Advocate
To use opportunities to advocate for the role of culture and creativity in relation to health and wellbeing, both within your organisation and with your local community.
4. Develop
To develop policies for your own organisation that focus on culture and creativity in relation to health and wellbeing, or to write creative health into existing policies.
Background
In 2017 the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Arts, Health & Wellbeing (hereafter APPG) published Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing. The report presents the findings of two years of research, evidence-gathering and discussions with patients, service-users, health and social care professionals, artists and arts administrators, academics, people in local government, ministers, other policy-makers and parliamentarians from both Houses of Parliament.
Creative Health concludes with a series of ten recommendations. The Creative Health Champions Network relates to Recommendation 3:
We recommend that, at board or strategic level, in NHS England, Public Health England and each clinical commissioning group, NHS trust, local authority and health and wellbeing board, an individual is designated to take responsibility for the pursuit of institutional policy for arts, health and wellbeing.
The Creative Health Champions network was developed in 2018 in response to this Recommendation by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Arts, Health & Wellbeing, the Culture, Health & Wellbeing Alliance, the National Performance Advisory Group for Arts, Design & Heritage in Hospitals, the Local Government Association and NHS Providers. The National Centre for Creative Health now provides the secretariat for the Creative Health Champions network.
If you would like any further information about being a Creative Health Champion please contact NCCH: info@ncch.org.uk
Find out more about the spread of Creative Health Champions across the UK via our map >>
