Amazing Air Arts colleagues named 'Team of the Year' at national patient experience award
The invaluable impact UHDB’s arts charity has had on improving our patients’ hospital experience has been recognised with a national award.
Air Arts was first set up in 2007 with the aim of creating a calm and welcoming environment for our patients, and the team have been behind countless different projects ever since that have all played their part in making Royal Derby Hospital what it is today.
From creating beautiful artworks and sculptures to adorn the walls of RDH and London Road Community Hospital, to organising for live music performances to be held along the hospital corridors, Air Arts have helped promote health and wellbeing through the arts.
Air Arts have showcased their support to #TeamUHDB throughout the Covid-19 pandemic by turning dozens of our colleagues into real life superheroes in art form, while the team have literally sweated for the cause by covering more than 1,000km between them to raise an amazing £1,600 for Derby and Burton Hospitals Charity.
Some of the team’s other recent successes have also included helping to create an ICU secret garden for our critical care patients to enjoy, as well as a Healing Garden for patients, staff and visitors to remember loved ones who are sadly no longer with us.
All of this work has undoubtedly helped to enhance patient experience in our hospitals, so we were absolutely delighted to this week see Air Arts named as ‘Team of the Year’ at the Patient Experience Network National Awards.
Laura Waters, Arts Programme Manager at Air Arts, said: “We have the most incredible team and the way that they have all reacted to the challenge of the pandemic has been fantastic. We have had to completely change everything that we do to reach our patients and staff but I have been blown away with everyone’s efforts.
“All of our artists have come up with some great ideas. We’ve seen the amazing efforts of our clinical colleagues in recent months and that has inspired us to do as much as we can to honour them. Our whole team have pushed themselves and challenged themselves to improve patient experience in our hospitals, so I’m very proud to have seen this work recognised with an award.”