NHS 75: Daniel shares moving poem on Radio 4 as 'Our National Health Stories' art project launches
A UHDB colleague shared his moving poem recounting his experiences of working through the pandemic on national radio to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS.
Daniel Griffith, Staff Nurse on Ward 206 at Royal Derby Hospital, shared his incredibly poignant poem on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday5 July as part of 'The NHS at 75: Covid Memories'.
The programme also marked the launch of a major programme of artistic work created by 19 trusts across England, including UHDB, called 'Our National Health Stories'.
The project, funded by Arts Council England and NHS Charities Together in partnership with NHS England, brings together music, poetry, drawings, paintings, writing - engages thousands of NHS staff to tell their stories, to share what being part of the NHS means to them and the impact it has had on their lives.
UHDB's arts charity, Air Arts, is one of the leading arts organisations in the National Health Stories project. Head of Arts, Laura Waters, sits on the steering group for the project and through Derby and Burton Hospitals Charity, successfully led the Arts Council England funding application on behalf of all 19 hospital trusts.
The project has been created by the National Arts in Hospitals Network, which is a membership organisation for over 50 Arts programmes in England, formed in 2019. The project was open to all members and 19 trusts joined the project.
Each hospital is being invited to share their own stories around the last 75 years of the NHS to contribute to the national project. Air Arts collected hundreds of poems, pictures and stories during the pandemic which inspired a whole host of artistic projects:
- The ‘A Choral Forest’ concert in Lichfield Cathedral on 10 October 2021 where staff read their poetry and the staff wellbeing choir performed for the first time
- Our charity single and video ‘The Longest Winter’, written and performed by Air Arts musicians, which was released on 3 July 2023.
- ‘A Choral Forest’ book – a beautiful book of poetry and imagery ‘a celebration of creativity, undeterred by calamity’ is available to purchase from UHDB Charity Hubs and the Air Arts website. Purchase your copy of the Choral Forest book online (opens in new window) >
- Five choral forest tree sculptures, which will be installed in each of our 5 main sites in the Autumn
The project will culminate in a live finale event in November 2023, developed by a creative team led by Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah with writer Chris Bush and composer Ruth Chan, with dramaturg Teunkie Van Der Sluijs and assistant director Jennifer Tang.
Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic Director, Our National Health Stories said: "It's important to tell stories of the NHS from the inside. Often we talk about the NHS as one huge monolith, but actually, it’s people who make the institution
"I want to hear their voices, I want to hear their stories, to hear how they have negotiated the last few years. I want to help articulate that particular dedication to service and care. The creative team for this project are the NHS workers themselves, and the art will come from the ground up."