As well as having dedicated play specialists to entertain and distract our young patients, there are regular visits from artists, storytellers, musicians, and magicians to entertain our children, encourage their creative sides and boost their recovery.
Arts for Health is really important to us at Alder Hey and has proven benefits to health and wellbeing. We run an award-winning arts for health programme inspired by our patients and even led by them. We have lots of art activities going on across our wards, waiting areas and in the community including dance, music, storytelling, creative writing, animation, theatre and performance, photography, crafts and much more! We have partnered up with many leading arts organisations to be able to do this including Tate Liverpool and Comics Youth to name just a few. You may experience some of the below on your visit:
Music and dance
We have a team of amazing musicians who visit each in-patient ward at least once a week. They also visit our Emergency Department and can help distract, sooth and support our children and young people through difficult procedures
“We’ve been writing our own music, we’ve learnt different songs each week. It’s the best day of the week!” Luke aged 10 years
“As a parent watching and listening, it was lovely to watch my son’s mind being taken away from the stress, anxiety and pain he’s going through.” Parent
We also have lots of other projects going on at the moment, here is a sneak peak at just a few:
Music Matters – we have workshops on oncology with Cellist Georgina. The whole family can get involved and children can learn to play a whole range of instruments from ukulele to keyboard to help them de-stress, relax and have fun!
“I got to do something else rather than be on my phone for hours. The way Georgina played the cello was so enchanting and very therapeutic. I had a great time,” Oncology patient aged 15 years
“It breaks the days up and my daughter learns new skills. She started off shy and got more confident, she gets more confident each time,” Mum of patient aged 2 years
The Lullaby Project – our musicians work with parents and carers to create their own bespoke lullabies to be enjoyed by their babies.
Dance and movement
We have weekly dance sessions with our long term patients on the Cardiac and Neuro Rehabilitation Wards, where patients can dance, move and develop muscle strength and coordination, and flexibility. The dancers from Small things also come on to the ward for performances where patients can join in
On your visit to Alder Hey, you will notice artwork by internationally renowned artist Lucy Casson. Inspired by nature and the local environment, you will see Lucy’s artwork on glasswork and signage, and a collection of much loved bronze creatures dotted around our atrium. She also created Roost, a hanging sculpture featuring 100 hand made birds nestling on wooden ‘pine needles’. Lucy has also created a collection of stunning artwork for our new mental health facility, Catkin House and Sunflower House.
The Arts for Health programme is funded entirely through charitable sources, and is generously supported by Alder Hey Children’s Charity.
If you would like to support our Arts programme, please contact the Alder Hey Children’s Charity online or by phone on 0151 252 5716.