Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust (THAT) worked to deliver creative engagement programmes across Tayside to people living with mixed long-term conditions, carers, staff, and family. The programmes were a response to COVID-19 restrictions and combined outdoor and online group activities. The emphasis was on supporting and encouraging a gradual return to normality. All programmes required to respond to health and wellbeing regulations, venue restrictions, and safe distancing guidelines.
Within Angus: THAT has continued to develop its partnership relationship with Hospitalfield House Arbroath.
A new group of individuals with a variety of ages and long-term health conditions, some of whom had never been to Hospitalfield, engaged in the programme, which included journal taking, discussion, research, art and printing.
This new group was recruited through the AAVO and NHST specialist link contacts. During the two years of COVID restrictions regulating group activity, Individuals met either online or in person. Many of the group members were socially isolated over the two-year period of the pandemic.
Within Dundee: THAT Mind Matters Workshops delivered in partnership with Community Health Specialist Nurse/ Nurse Team Leader Health Inequalities Service Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership.
THAT provided visual arts as a contributing component part of the Mind Matters, social isolation project 2021-22. The project highlighted assistance to individual mental health as a valuable and positive stepping stone to people managing their own well-being and care within their community.
THAT worked with 33 participants in Dundee and Angus.
The delivery of this project in 2021-22 programmes showed that, despite the ongoing restrictions of the Coronavirus pandemic, THAT managed to redevelop its high-quality service. Although changes in models and forging new partnerships took time due to covid restrictions, THAT clearly showed that they were able to respond and be an innovative and positive source of support for people in the LTC community during the Coronavirus pandemic.
