‘Creative health is fundamental to a healthy and prosperous society’.
The National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH) and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing (APPG AHW) launched the report of the Creative Health Review on 6th December 2023.
The Review highlights the potential for creative health to help tackle pressing issues in health and social care and more widely, including health inequalities and the additional challenges we face as we recover from Covid-19. 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.
The Creative Health Review can be downloaded here.
Live Music Now programmes are included in the Review as examples of effective creative health interventions:
- The Lullaby Project in Merseyside, helping new parents recover from perinatal mental health challenges is cited on page 60.
- Live Music in Care, our music making and workforce development programme with people living and working in care homes for older people living with dementia features on page 79 and in the accompanying online materials as a case study here.
Douglas Noble, Live Music Now’s Strategic Director of Adult Social Care and Health attended the Launch Event at the Science Gallery in London.
“We are delighted to see that the hard work, progress and achievements of the people we work with, the Live Music Now team and our fabulous musicians were recognized in this significant and influential document.
The Review Commissioners include of Prof Sir Michael Marmot, Professor Martin Marsal Monty Don, Lord Howarth, Rob Webster CBE, Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey OBE, and Tracey Crouch CBE. Lord Howarth, in summarizing the Report’s call to embrace creative health through a cross-governmental approach, recommended making creative health initiatives universally accessible. This approach is deemed crucial for integrated health and care, fostering a cohesive strategy to address health inequalities and determinants of health.
Highlighting the value and efficacy of engaging with culture and creativity, the Review provides evidence-based examples demonstrating their impact on prevention, treatment, management, and recovery of physical health symptoms. These examples extend to conditions that exert a substantial burden on the NHS.
Notably, the Review presents a compelling economic case, showcasing potential savings by reducing reliance on healthcare services. It emphasizes the value for money inherent in creative health initiatives, considering their social impact. Furthermore, the Review argues for the economic benefits, positing that such initiatives can reduce avoidable healthcare costs, alleviate pressure on health services, and facilitate self-management, allowing individuals with long-term conditions to remain in work.
We would like to congratulate and thank the whole team at the NCCH and acknowledge all the effective and impactful practice that the Review cites from creative individuals, organizations and communities across the UK.”