Could the arts ease pressure on Suffolk's NHS? £1m project aims to find out

Why it matters: Arts Council England has awarded £350,000 to Norfolk and Suffolk: Region of Creative Health, a two-year project that organisers say is the first of its kind in the UK. It will work across cultural, creative, health, social care, education and innovation sectors to bring the health and wellbeing benefits of culture and creativity to more people.

The big picture: The project is led by Ipswich-based DanceEast and the Norfolk & Suffolk Culture Board. It forms part of a 10-year vision to establish creativity and cultural participation as core health behaviours for people in the region.

• Organisers say activities such as singing, dancing, visiting museums, galleries and theatres, writing, reading and making things are fundamental to long-term healthy lives, and to the prevention and management of conditions such as postnatal depression, asthma and Parkinson's.
• They cite research from the UCL Social Behavioural Research Unit as evidence for the approach.

The details: The £350,000 from Arts Council England is expected to unlock a further £250,000 in funding and £500,000 in time, capacity, resource and expertise, taking the total project value to £1 million.

Activities planned through the project include:

• Training and qualifications for cultural, health and social care workers, including an apprenticeship with the University of Suffolk
• Developing new creative health commissioning models and ways to present data
• New creative health information products, including NHS apps
• A programme of collaborative learning, development and innovation, with findings shared through articles and events

The project will also create job opportunities for creative health practitioners, including freelancers.

What they're saying: Anthony Missen, Creative Director and Chief Executive of DanceEast, said: "The award from Arts Council England provides a fantastic opportunity to build on existing partnerships and momentum so that we can embed culture and creativity within the lives of people in Norfolk and Suffolk."

"This investment has been awarded early in the NHS's 10-year plan to move from cure to prevention: we see creativity and culture as playing a key role in achieving this. This project is unique nationally and will transform Norfolk and Suffolk into the UK's leading region of creative health."

Louise Jordan-Hall, Chair of Norfolk & Suffolk Culture Board, said: "The Norfolk & Suffolk: Region of Creative Health project is the result of several years of development and collaboration. This funding demonstrates the power of partnership, and the importance of working across sectors to come up with solutions that bring creative and cultural opportunities to people in our place."

She added: "Our 2024 Creative Lives Report mapped regional activity, identifying needs, challenges, and opportunities for embedding creative health. Its recommendations have shaped our approach: workforce development, commissioning models, stronger health-sector leadership and value for the creative workforce sit at the heart of this project."

For context: The project builds on existing creative health activity delivered by DanceEast, Suffolk Artlink, Creative Arts East and Suffolk Community Libraries, among others.

Partners include the Norfolk & Suffolk Integrated Care Board, Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, Health Innovation East, the University of East Anglia, Norwich University of the Arts, the University of Suffolk, and Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils. Organisers say this will enable the project to connect into existing systems and approaches, such as social prescribing.

What's next: The Norfolk & Suffolk Culture Board says it will use evidence created through the project to advocate for the inclusion of creative health within plans held by the new Norfolk and Suffolk Mayor's Office, and within health and social care service delivery.

The bottom line: With £350,000 of Arts Council England funding now secured, organisers will spend the next two years testing whether creative activity can be embedded into mainstream health and care – and whether the model can be scaled across the region.

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