The incorporation of the arts in health spaces is known to have positive impacts on patients, including reduction in medication dependence, hospital length of stay and treatment-related stress. Potential also exists to positively influence patient tolerance of symptoms and treatment, social inclusion, perceptions of care quality and relationships between patients and health professionals.
During the design planning stage of the Campbelltown Hospital Redevelopment (CHR) Stage 2, feedback from the community highlighted concerns that the design and layout of the old hospital facilities discouraged people from attending health services. Meetings with Aboriginal people in the community supported these concerns. In response to this feedback, the CHR project team developed a model to engage with consumers, including Aboriginal elders and staff, to help inform the design the new hospital.
Design representative of Dharawal country
The Campbelltown Hospital Development Arts and Culture Strategy was created to help integrate the arts across a wide range of clinical and non-clinical settings on campus. The strategy enhances patient, staff and visitor experience via multi-modal use of arts, creating a sense of place and community. It also enhances the individual and collective experience of health participation and cultural identity.
The strategy has facilitated collaborative planning, including the engagement of artists to develop unique art to support a holistic welcoming environment, as per the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. This has provided an opportunity for Indigenous community engagement and impacted positively on access to services via an enhanced wayfinding strategy. This project promotes the application of arts initiatives in health promotion and delivery of health care by fostering a sustainable partnership between health services and community. The new design acknowledges that Campbelltown Hospital is located on Dharawal country, respects it’s strong Dharawal heritage and is welcoming to Aboriginal people. This is the first time Aboriginal art has been integrated into facility design at Campbelltown Hospital with the express purpose of transforming patient experience.
Artists facilitate conversations with community
The strategy team developed a unique approach to engage with the local community, including Indigenous Elders, to address the cultural needs of the community. A working group was formed with key stakeholders, involving multidisciplinary health staff, community representatives and collaborative partners. The group facilitated work to identify and address opportunities for incorporation of the arts in a multi-modal format. The NSW Health and the Arts Framework was used as the evidence-based guidance for strategy development to implement this project. During consultation with consumers and staff, several art themes were identified to be included in the new hospital design to reinforce the health services respect for local Aboriginal communities and to increase engagement with Aboriginal people.
Artist Erica Seccombe undertook consultation and work-shopping with patients, staff and the community to determine ‘What should a hospital feel like?’. Her work identified that nature, or the sense of being in contact with nature, may relieve some of the stress and unease often affiliated with the hospital experience. Erica produced ink line art images of local Indigenous medicinal plants. These images and supporting educational information were incorporated into the interior design of the hospital, providing an engaging and welcoming environment, promoting patient recovery and carer wellbeing. The use of a medicinal plant and colour theme per level was used to trigger intuitive wayfinding.
Artist Nicole Monks undertook consultation with the local community to explore ‘How should our spaces connect us to culture?’. She identified the lyrebird, the local indigenous totem, as having great importance to the community. An outdoor healing circle was installed to a provide a culturally sensitive space for reflection and healing. Welcome stones were included at the main entry, to provide an opportunity to connect with the facility and the land on which it sits. Kinetic feather sculptures were built, to embrace local life-cycle and lyrebird themes. An artistic representation of the Lyrebird was installed on the northern and southern facades of the building.
Cultural appropriateness and achievement of delivering a ‘sense of place’
Feedback on the artwork, design of the new hospital environment and the patient experience was collected via consumer group participation, governance structure mechanisms, communication and engagement with staff, patients and community surveys, community forums and the redevelopment website. Installation of pieces was subject to validation, artistic assessment and defect reviews.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Post completion of CHR Stage 2, an audit of the facility artwork collection conducted by the Campbelltown Art Centre Curator has demonstrated a 353% increase in facility locations leveraging ‘arts and culture’, a 55% increase in high ‘aesthetic value’ and a 27% increase in ‘social and spiritual’ value of artwork in the facility. A formal review of the new building design and the artwork conducted by local indigenous elders has affirmed cultural appropriateness and the achievement of delivering a ‘sense of place’ for the Aboriginal community. This consultation process empowered local Aboriginal communities, giving them a feeling of ownership in the new building and has contributed to a beautiful environment that proudly features Aboriginal designs and demonstrates the deep respect that Campbelltown Hospital and its staff hold for Aboriginal culture.
The strategy was presented at Australian Healthcare Week in March 2021 and received positive feedback including a request by Compass Group to repeat the presentation for their interstate executive team. Post-presentation feedback indicates learnings will be implemented in their cross-sector business and influence future activities.
