Image courtesy of Corbin O’Grady Studio & Art for Life
Our theme for this newsletter is arts in hospitals, and you will find a series of resources below highlighting the positive impact of the arts in hospital environments. We invited the National Arts in Hospitals Network (NAHN) to write a guest blog sharing their work and the evidence behind hospital arts programmes.
Arts programmes have a huge impact on people who visit, work and are treated in hospitals. Over 100 hospital trusts in the country have arts programmes and arts managers. There is a wealth of evidence and long history demonstrating that the arts improve healthcare professionals’ and patients’ wellbeing (APPG on Arts, Health and Wellbeing, 2017; 2023).
“A study at Barts Health NHS Trust published in January 2026 demonstrates that group art sessions cut the risk of staff burnout by half, and 98% of staff participants reported it helped them, with significantly lower emotional exhaustion.”