Description: Landscape Photography Ceiling
Feature
Location: Leeds General Infirmary, UK
Artist: Kate Mellor
Overview
Fourteen images of Australian landscapes featuring trees, water
and open countryside, the work of Kate Mellor, are installed in
the Day Case Unit (DCU) of Leeds General Infirmary. The large
colour transparencies, each measuring 550mm x 550mm, are displayed
in light boxes set into the ceiling above the beds in the Unit,
either singly or in groups of three making up a composite image.
The installation in the DCU was completed in 1997, and is a pilot
for the installation of further images by Kate Mellor as part
of the same commission in other areas of high dependency care.
The photographs were commissioned by Arts
in Healthcare, now called Tonic, which delivers the arts programme
of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Background
The idea for the commission developed slowly, and the commission
itself stalled at a number of points and took a long time to realise.
Research published in the British Medical Journal in 1994 showed
that post-operative delirium in patients coming round after invasive
traumatic surgery and treatment with narcotic drugs, raises the
heart rate and creates stress, delaying patient recovery or even
leading to death. The delirium can be prevented by bringing patients
back to consciousness in normal rather than clinical surroundings,
especially in rooms with windows looking onto natural landscapes.
Gail Bolland learned of this research and was keen to take the
opportunity to move the hospital art programme towards commissioning
works which would have a positive physiological effect and hence
assist patient recovery.
The Cardiothoracic Unit, a six bedded windowless
unit, was identified in consultation with medical staff as an
appropriate location for a pilot scheme, with the idea of extending
the project to the Intensive Care Unit and other high dependency
areas if the pilot was successful. Take Heart, a Trust with the
purpose of improving the hospital environment for heart patients
in Leeds, agreed to fund the pilot project and the Institute of
Work, Health and Organisation at Nottingham University agreed
to undertake an evaluative study of its clinical and psychological
impact. Yorkshire Arts Board was consulted about possible photographers
for the commission. Kate Mellor, a photographer from the region
with an interest in landscape and who had recently won an award
for her work, was invited to undertake the commission in 1995.
back
to top
Artist’s Brief
The brief was a very specific one. It asked for 20 images based
on the findings of the published research on the effect of environment
on patient recovery, and required the artist to consult with staff
in the Day Care Unit. It indicated that the images would be reprocessed
as positive transparencies 540mm x 540mm to be displayed backlit
in light boxes which would replace the standard 600mm x 600mm
tiles in the suspended ceiling. Kate Mellor was provided with
a fee and materials/travel expenses to produce 20 images; the
reprocessing and display costs would be paid by Arts in Healthcare.
In order to find landscape images which the research indicated
would have a positive effect on patient recovery, during the English
winter months of January and February, the artist visited the
states of Victoria and Tasmania in Australia. Here she produced
landscape and coastal photographs for the commission.
back
to top
Day Case Unit
While the commission was in progress, new medical equipment was
introduced into the ceiling above the beds in the Cardiothoracic
Unit. This prohibited the installation of images into the ceiling
of the Unit. The two Consultants involved in identifying the original
location suggested the Day Case Unit as an alternative because
it was a cheerless, windowless ward where day patients had to
remain still for long periods whilst undergoing unpleasant tests,
with little privacy and no distractions. Planning continued for
this new location, but before the installation could be made,
the DCU was move into the new Jubilee Wing. This again delayed
the project but did allow the necessary wiring to be installed
in the ceilings of the new DCU, other intensive care wards, and
other locations where light boxes might be installed in future,
including Accident and Emergency, children’s and adult wards.
back
to top
Installation
Installation was delayed because the light boxes had to be specially
manufactured to fit the standard spaces in the suspended ceilings.
There were also lengthy negotiations with the architects of the
new wing over the number and distribution of light boxes that
the ceiling could bear. Eventually, 14 light boxes were installed
in the Day Case Unit, four composite images each with three sections
and two single images. A handout is available in the Unit telling
patients about the images and the project and patients can request
that the light boxes are turned off. Patient and staff feedback
has been generally extremely positive. A further eight new images
and duplicates of the images already used are available for installation
in other locations in the hospital.
back
to top
Evaluation
The evaluation study by Nottingham University took advantage of
the relocation of the Day Case Unit to create control data at
the old DCU and then to test patients experiencing the art work
in the new Jubilee Building Unit. The blood pressure, pulse rate,
attention span and stress levels of patients were monitored, and
they were also invited to report on how they were feeling. The
introduction of the art work was not the only variable which the
researcher had to take into account in analysing the data. At
the same time as the DCU was relocated, a small rural hospital
at Killingbeck was closed and moved into the Leeds General Infirmary.
He therefore had to factor for the resentment of staff who were
being moved into alien surroundings after been taken over by a
large Trust. Some of this resentment attached to the art work
as a manifestation of an unfamiliar culture. This negative reaction
from staff has disappeared over time.
The research compared data collected in the old Day Case Unit,
in the new unit without light boxes and in the new unit with light
boxes. It found a significant improvement in patients’ stress
levels measured physically, and in their perception of their physical
condition in the new ward compared to data from the old DCU. There
was no difference in the physical data collected from patients
in the new unit without the light boxes and with the light boxes
in place.
However there was a significant improvement
in mood and perception reported by patients viewing the light
boxes compared to data from patients without light boxes.
© Copyright Joanna Morland 2000
back to top
|
Archive: Case Study: Leeds General Infirmary
