Dialysis Arts Programme, Unit 7, Merlin Park University Hospital
Year
Since 2012
Supported by
- Irish Kidney Association
- Galway University Hospitals
- Saolta Arts
There was no talk at all about dialysis, or no worrying about dialysis. He’d say is the artist coming today because I want to get paint off her for such a bird that came in from Iceland. It was better than the dialysis for him to have a talk to you and to talk about birds. The person that’s in the bed appreciates that. Someone to talk to them. And it would make you feel important, like. And not to give up. Anyone that gives up they are finished because you get depressed. If you have hope and you get interested in something. Keep an interest in something. You have to have it. But to come and have the bit of banter and the bit of craic. You’d relax, and you’d be at ease. And in my opinion, it means an awful lot. Four hours is a long time lying in the same spot looking at the ceiling.
— Participant
Our Dialysis Arts Programme at Merlin Park University Hospital provides patients with individual participatory arts workshops during the long hours of haemodialysis treatment. Those participating find a more productive use of their time, engaged in a way that distracts from worries and “makes time fly”. For some, their creative projects present a renewed sense of purpose and choice where they have had to give up a role or independence to the dialysis routine. Others find themselves looking at things in new ways, sometimes finding inspiration on their long journeys to and from dialysis. The workshops spark conversation and camaraderie between everyone, making the clinical setting more human. Exhibitions in the unit provide opportunities for celebration and promote a welcoming ‘patient first’ environment.
Established in 2012 with an Arts Council Project Award, the initial year-long project phase encompassed a wealth of person-centred art workshops and collaborations, a publication, and the exhibition A Swallow’s Tale in a Thousand Skies at Galway Arts Centre. The patient waiting area was also transformed, guided by three rounds of patient consultation. This included a window blind and wallpaper designed by a patient as she was dialysed. Read a case study about the first year of the programme on artsandhealth.ie.
Since 2014 the programme has been continuously supported by a partnership between Saolta Arts, Galway University Hospitals, and the Irish Kidney Association. Though its focus is always on the creative process, special events have allowed outcomes to be celebrated with friends and family. Examples include the exhibition The Savage Loves His Native Shore, at the National University of Ireland for Galway International Arts Festival 2016, and screenings of the short film we made about the programme when we were awarded the artsandhealth.ie Documentation Bursary 2017/18.
Considered a vital aspect of patient care, the Dialysis Arts Programme thrives on the continuing enthusiasm and support of the amazing renal team in Unit 7. Staff Nurse Jacinta Reade reflects on her experience of the programme in Perspectives and in the film The Second Hand of The Clock.