Volunteering at Stoke Mandeville by Sheila da Rosa

VOLUNTEERING AT STOKE MANDEVILLE

2012 was a year which, in many ways, I’m glad to see the back of.  The recession had a bad affect on everyone’s pockets, and my little corner of Tring was not exempt.  So rather than re-train as a RBS Chairman, I decided to volunteer to help out on Stoke Mandeville Hospital’s Arts4health programme which promotes the arts for patients, staff and visitors of the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust.  Set up by David Elliot, an artist who balances this work with the rest of his chaplaincy role at the hospital.  He has said that he “would like to see the creative arts groups expanding to the community hospitals and would love to include a wider range of creative activities.” 

Recently Art4health has introduced Aaron Meli in a day of drumming and percussion at the Spinal Unit recently; Tom Doughty paid a visit to the Spinal Unit to share his unique talents as a lap slide guitarist with patients; stroke patients at Wycombe have created an innovative piece of artwork using more than 200 chocolate wrappers, sequins and shiny wrapping paper called ‘Splash of Inspiration’; and volunteers from Aylesbury Youth Action Group put their talents to good use by teaming up with spinal patients to create a mural celebrating the history of the Paralympics.

    

1 - Monoprints produced in Spinal Unit Workshop

After my volunteer induction and CRB check I was invited to ‘shadow’ David Elliot’s art classes at the Cancer Care & Haematology Department (CCHU) and also starting doing some arts projects with Vivienne Gordon who runs the arts & crafts workshops as part of an expanding arts rehabilitation initiative at the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Vivienne says, “Sheila has introduced patients to printmaking techniques with some unusual and creative results. Many patients had limited hand-function and few had any previous experience of artistic activities. Using simple equipment such as brushes, scissors, paint and rollers is automatic to most of us, but spinal patients have the frustrating task of re-learning these simple moves.”

I have now just finished four Monoprinting workshops on the CCHU and a block of workshops at the Spinal Unit, and I have been amazed at how much I have also gained from these sessions. I’ve learned that when using art to help cope with physical problems it is not just about how good the final piece of work is.  What strikes me is that, in this environment, it is about the little trials and triumphs of re-gained ability, from putting paint onto paper, training muscles to hold rollers, pencils, brushes and scissors, Furthermore in a situation which could become quite frustrating for participants who want to be able to do more, this programme acts as an aid to help patients verbalise and interact with helpers calmly & clearly. 

Having completed these workshops I have a much greater appreciation of the therapeutic effect of quiet, companionable activities that keep the mind occupied, and it has been such a joy to meet so many interesting and brave people whilst having the time to really enjoy this print process.