For over 10 years Yeovil hospital has supported a thriving arts programme as part of our commitment to enhancing the environment in which our community cares, works and visits. All across the hospital you will see a vibrant range of artworks from poetry to sculpture, paintings to prints, predominantly by Artists based in the West Country.
Where an area of the hospital is being refurbished or refreshed the Art for Life Team will work with architects, staff and patients to ensure that high quality appropriate art and design is included. This ranges from flooring images to ceiling panels in consulting rooms as well as original artworks in public corridors and waiting areas, often commissioned specifically for the Hospital.
Art in hospital loan scheme
Yeovil District Hospital also works with the charity Art in Hospital which loans artwork to regional hospitals. In 2014 the Hospital’s League of Friends kindly donated funds to enable us to display 13 artworks for 3 years.
Inner eye X-ray project
In 2011 Hugh Turvey an X-Ray artist worked with staff and patients to generate a series of stunning images of familiar objects, plants and toys. The images are a delightful addition to the waiting areas as well as acting educational tools helping staff to show how the range of imaging technologies can communicate different information.
Art and the care of patients experiencing dementia
As a Hospital Trust we are committed to making our services as accessible as possible, we know that hospitals can be disorientating and unfamiliar to many. Colour, image, clear symbols and signage can all support patients and visitors find their way around the hospital. With the help of a grant from the Department of Health we have been able to totally redesign Dementia ward 6A. We now have bold and interchangeable photographs in corridors, side rooms and ward areas and we are aiming to extend these design principles to apply to all our wards. Local photographers responded to a call out to supply images that will help patients visually connect with their surroundings.
Our multi-faith chapel
In 2012 children from a neighbouring nursery worked with digital artist Richard Tomlinson to explore the theme of Sanctuary. Their artwork was then interpreted and manipulated to form a beautiful patterned Perspex screen within the multi-faith Chapel.
Garden trail
Our hospital is blessed with fabulous gardens and outdoor spaces. Over the next year we are going to develop an accessible outdoor trail to encourage more people to explore some of the wonderful borders, trees, seating and sculptures which surround the hospital.