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PSYCHIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNITS FOR MEN 2021
Hospital Rooms worked across three London PICUs: Askew Ward (West London NHS Trust), Titian Ward (NELFT) and Bevan Ward (ELFT). The start of the project coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the series of lockdowns that follows. Managing to maintain momentum with the wards and eighteen artists working on the projects has been an extraordinary achievement.
PROJECT INTRODUCTION
Hospital Rooms worked across three London PICUs: Askew Ward (West London NHS Trust), Titian Ward (NELFT) and Bevan Ward (ELFT). The start of the project coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the series of lockdowns that follows. Managing to maintain momentum with the wards and eighteen artists working on the projects has been an extraordinary achievement.
Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) are some of the most challenging and restrictive environments of mental health care. People are admitted to PICUs, as a first port of call, when experiencing an acute episode with one or more mental health diagnoses e.g., mania, psychoses of some form, severe depression, or schizophrenia. Due to the severity of service users’ conditions, the length of stay is usually around 2-4 weeks with emphasis on short term management through medication rather than long term recovery through sustained therapies and activities. This goes some way to explaining why PICUs are considered to be the most difficult and restrictive inpatient mental health setting and typically devoid of art, creative activity or inspiration. Service users in PICUs are often amongst the most vulnerable and segregated (NHS England, 2008) in society facing a series of barriers to accessing meaningful engagement with the arts.
Tim Shaw
Co-Founder
Tim is a tall man with brown hair and eyes. He lives in London, grew up in Kent and had Welsh, Scottish and Pakistani grandparents. He has Tourettes Syndrome so has some frequent facial and body tics. His pronouns are he/him.
Tim started the charity with Niamh. He raises funds for the projects and works with the different teams on how to deliver their projects. Tim is an artist and makes installations, light sculptures and paintings. He started his career in the arts as an Art Technician and ran his own art installation company for 10 years. With Niamh, outside of Hospital Rooms, he runs an art prize for exceptional emerging artists. He authored a book called Draw & Be Happy. He eats a Mars Ice Cream every day.
Niamh White
Co-Founder
Niamh (Pronounced Neve) is a medium height white woman with light brown hair. Her pronouns are she/her. She was born in Dublin, raised in Cornwall and now lives in London.
Niamh does something different every day but mostly loves dreaming up the future of Hospital Rooms. She builds projects, generates funding, monitors our impact and plans for the long term. Niamh is a curator who began her career on the front desk at Hauser & Wirth, worked for Nick Knight at SHOWstudio and has undertaken a variety of independent projects. She has always been fascinated by the ways in which the arts can drive social change. Niamh likes essay collections – a recent favourite is All We Can Save by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K Wilkinson. She likes getting blown around on the Cornish coast.
‘When you see a blank wall, you feel nothing; if you have something engaging to look at your mind reflects and starts to flow. That’s what I feel about this artwork. The words saying, ‘OURS IS THE ALL WITH THE NEW DAY RISING’ have become my motivation, my daily mantra – it’s very affirmative.’
Artists
‘We liked making little flags with Phoebe Boswell. It was a session where they were making flags and giving hope, and every single one of them had something they wrote about hope and stuck it up. They liked these kinds of straightforward things that were quick, inventive and something they knew.’
‘I saw some very, very unwell patients coming in, and I would say to [the Hospital Rooms team] “just be careful with them – you know, they might suddenly do something”, but they were very, very engaged. Either by talking about the art or just quietly doing something. So, it did have an important impact on them.’
Thank You
This project was supported by a wide variety of partners without whom it would not be possible. We are very grateful to: West London NHS Foundation Trust, East London NHS Foundation Trust, North East London NHS Foundation Trust, Arts Council England, Garfield Weston Foundation, Browne Jacobson LLP, Derwent London and Isabella Blow Foundation