National Centre for Creative Health

OVERVIEW

The National Centre for Creative Health and the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Arts, Health and Wellbeing's Creative Health Review: How Policy Can Embrace Creative Health highlights the potential for creative health to help tackle pressing issues in health and social care and more widely. The Review has gathered evidence that shows the benefits of creative health in relation to major current challenges, and examples of where this is already working in practice. In November 2024 the APPG was re-launched as the APPG on Creative Health.

Key Messages

Creative health is fundamental to a healthy and prosperous society, and its benefits should be available and accessible to all.
Creative health should form an integral part of a 21^st -century health and social care system – one that is holistic, person-centred, and which focuses on reducing inequalities and supporting people to live well for longer.
Creating the conditions for creative health flourish requires a joined-up, whole system approach incorporating health systems, local authorities, schools, and the cultural and VCSE sectors.

Cross-governmental recommendations

We recommend the development of a cross-departmental Creative Health Strategy, driven by the Prime Minister, co-ordinated by the Cabinet Office and supported through ministerial commitment to ensure the integration of creative health across all relevant policies. Such an approach will facilitate the establishment of sustainable cross-sectoral partnerships across regions and systems, modelled by national policy.

The long-term value of investing in creative health must be recognised and appropriate resources should be allocated by HM Treasury to support the Creative Health Strategy.

Lived experience experts should be integral to the development of the Creative Health Strategy.

The Review includes additional recommendations to individual departments and recommendations for Combined Authorities and Metro Mayors.

Bite-sized video introduction to the Creative Health Review >>

If you would like a printed copy of the Creative Health Review Report (Cost £16 including UK P&P) please download and complete the order form and follow the order instructions. Order Form download >>

A full digital downloadable free copy is available here or downloadable extracts are below:

Overview Extracts

Statement of Lived Experience Download >>
Introduction to Creative Health Download >>
Executive Summary & Recommendations Download>>

Creative Health and Key Policy Challenges Extracts include:

Mental Health and Wellbeing - more information on this chapter >>
Health Inequalities - more information on this chapter >>
Health and Wellbeing in the Education System - more information on this chapter >>
Social Care - more information on this chapter >>
End of Life and Bereavement - more information on this chapter >>

Implementing Creative Health Extracts include:

Cost and Value – the Economics of Creative Health
Workforce Training and Development
Leadership and Strategy

More information on this chapter >>

Review Launch

The launch of the Report of the Creative Health Review was held on 6th December 2023 as a hybrid event, kindly hosted at the Science Gallery by King’s College London.

Watch our full Creative Health Review Report Launch >>

Watch Speaker Extracts >>

Launch Summary and Overview >>

The Creative Health Review Methodology

A panel of esteemed Commissioners and a Lived Experience Advisory Panel with a wide breadth of expertise informed the Review process and helped shape the final recommendations.

Find out more about our commissioners HERE >>

Central to the Creative Health Review were a series of themed roundtables held between Autumn 2022 and Spring 2023.

Find out about the themes and summaries from the roundtables HERE >>

The themes of the roundtables were: Mental Health and Wellbeing across the Life Course; Health Inequalities; Social Care; End of Life Care and Bereavement; Education and Training; Cost-effectiveness, Evidencing Value for Money and Funding Models; Leadership and Strategy - Embedding Creative Health in Integrated Care Systems.

Watch our Creative Health Review Roundtables >>

We commissioned a range of artists with their own lived experience to respond creatively to each of the Review's roundtable themes.

Find out more about the Creative Responses HERE >>

As well as the roundtable discussions and consulting with the Review’s Lived Experience Advisory Panel, the Review also welcomed public input via a call for contributions.

Read the Creative Health Review Case Studies HERE >>

The case studies in the report show how creative health can reduce pressure on health and social care services both by preventing the onset of ill health and by supporting the management of long-term conditions, offering patients effective, non-clinical approaches that reduce reliance on healthcare services and result in cost savings. The report also examines successful models across the UK where partnerships between arts, health, social care and education are yielding positive results without high costs.