Visual Arts Project at Royal Edinburgh Hospital Shortlisted for Design in Mental Health Award

Our innovative Visual Arts project at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital (REH) has been shortlisted for a prestigious Design in Mental Health Award in the low cost high impact category, recognising its significant contribution to enhancing the hospital environment and promoting wellbeing.

The recent project focused on transforming two key areas of the REH: the main entrance at Jordanburn, and the wall outside the Glasshouses, creating a more welcoming atmosphere for patients, visitors, and staff.

Our Tonic Arts team commissioned talented local artist, Natasha Russell, to develop a creative engagement programme that actively involved patients and staff from various inpatient units, including general adult acute wards, older people’s wards, and rehabilitation units, as well as specialist services.

Through a series of workshops led by Natasha, participants explored shape and colour working from references and imagination, to create artwork linked to plants, nature, insects and birds, contributing their own creative ideas and designs for the chosen spaces. Following the workshops, Natasha worked alongside the hospital community to bring these designs to life through vibrant surface artworks and murals. This participatory approach not only provided a fun and creative outlet but also allowed the hospital community to directly impact their built environment.

The initiative has been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback, with the hospital community embracing the colourful transformation, and requesting it to be rolled out across the site as a wider project.

One patient captured the project’s impact, stating:

As you are going to hospital you see the beautiful images, it gives you hope and encouragement.”

With a staff member adding:

The colour scheme is very relaxing for patients and staff. I see this building every day and it cheers me up.”

Len McCaffer, Tonic Arts Programme Manager, emphasised the deeper significance of the project:

This is far more than simply adding colour to the hospital grounds. It’s about intentionally cultivating an environment that uplifts spirits and actively supports the journey to recovery. The calming blues and greens, depicting trees and foliage at the Jordanburn entrance, create a welcoming feeling as you enter the hospital, with the vibrant mural at the Glasshouses offering a much-needed burst of colour and warmth.

“The core aim of our Tonic Arts programme is to creatively enhance environments and enrich experiences across NHS Lothian, and we are absolutely delighted that this project has had such a profound positive effect on the hospital community. This recognition from the Design in Mental Health Awards is a fantastic validation of that work.”

Beyond its immediate impact on current inpatients, Tonic Arts also actively engages former patients in volunteer roles. This recognises the enduring therapeutic benefits of continued involvement in creative activities and aims to support their ongoing wellbeing and contribute to preventing readmissions.

The success of this initial project and its well-deserved award nomination shines a light on the significant contribution of arts in health initiatives in creating more welcoming, healing environments within healthcare settings. The request to expand the Creatively Minded and Visual Arts project across the Royal Edinburgh Hospital reflects the strong demand and the clearly recognised positive impact it has had on the entire hospital community.

The award ceremony will take place on 3 June, 2025 in Manchester.

Further Information about the Royal Edinburgh Hospital

The Royal Edinburgh Hospital provides a range of crucial services, including care for individuals with acute mental health conditions, older adults with functional and organic illnesses, young people, forensic patients, those with learning disabilities, and individuals with eating disorders or acquired brain injuries. The positive reception of the Creatively Minded and Visual Arts project and its shortlisting for the Design in Mental Health Award underscores the value of integrating arts and creativity within these healthcare settings.