(AH/V015877/1) Follow-on: Communicating through Covid in General Practice
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: Sch of Medicine & Dentistry
Abstract
This project builds on the impact of research that has demonstrated how arts-based methods can be used to support non-verbal communication and demonstrate the gains from collaboration between the health and arts sectors in building more resilient, sustainable health systems. Over the past 2 years, Performing Medicine has investigated the communication challenges faced by health care professionals over the pandemic, and has implemented co-created interventions across two NHS Trusts and one medical school to improve interactions between colleagues and patients, and to help with recovery and renewal after two years of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. In this interdisciplinary project, it was found that arts-based strategies can play an integral role in healthcare professionals' recovery from the pandemic, offering managers viable strategies to build understanding and bringing teams together who have been fragmented by the challenges of Covid-19; playing a critical role in creating more compassionate, sustainable healthcare.
Covid-19 has had a significant impact on primary care across the UK, causing a number of knock-on effects as GPs are often the first point of call for the unwell. With social distancing rules, new reliance on hybrid working, and poor public attitudes towards staff, there is an exceptional burden on GPs. The impact of this is being seen through staff shortages and high staff attrition, with many GPs feeling burnout. Over the past two years GPs have radically changed their practice, and will be crucial players in tackling the health care burden that has grown in the past two years, highlighting why investment in this group will be valuable.
This Follow-on proposal responds to the needs of the primary care community, delivering a programme of 10 half-day in situ workshops and 10 one-hour sessions of online coaching to staff across England, that have been specifically adapted for this group. Workshops will help staff develop a language for self-care, non-verbal communication and spatial awareness, focusing particularly on video and telephone conversation coaching. The programme will nurture respect and understanding of different experiences of the pandemic through visual storytelling, theatre games, dance warm-ups, writing exercises, creative mapping, collective collages, and group conversations.
A knowledge exchange seminar and webinar, will provide a space for the primary care community to learn more about the value of the arts, and will help build a GP cultural ambassadors programme that will be supported by Performing Medicine. The project will end with a short report that will outline mutual strategies/opportunities for Integrated Care Systems to embed arts and culture in a bid to sustain healthcare people and systems, and be a catalyst for positive action.
Covid-19 has had a significant impact on primary care across the UK, causing a number of knock-on effects as GPs are often the first point of call for the unwell. With social distancing rules, new reliance on hybrid working, and poor public attitudes towards staff, there is an exceptional burden on GPs. The impact of this is being seen through staff shortages and high staff attrition, with many GPs feeling burnout. Over the past two years GPs have radically changed their practice, and will be crucial players in tackling the health care burden that has grown in the past two years, highlighting why investment in this group will be valuable.
This Follow-on proposal responds to the needs of the primary care community, delivering a programme of 10 half-day in situ workshops and 10 one-hour sessions of online coaching to staff across England, that have been specifically adapted for this group. Workshops will help staff develop a language for self-care, non-verbal communication and spatial awareness, focusing particularly on video and telephone conversation coaching. The programme will nurture respect and understanding of different experiences of the pandemic through visual storytelling, theatre games, dance warm-ups, writing exercises, creative mapping, collective collages, and group conversations.
A knowledge exchange seminar and webinar, will provide a space for the primary care community to learn more about the value of the arts, and will help build a GP cultural ambassadors programme that will be supported by Performing Medicine. The project will end with a short report that will outline mutual strategies/opportunities for Integrated Care Systems to embed arts and culture in a bid to sustain healthcare people and systems, and be a catalyst for positive action.
| Description | Over the course of the project we delivered 10 workshops for primary care staff, reaching 133 members of staff across 6 Integrated Care Systems. We worked with a range of roles including GP's, GP Trainees, Nurses, Pharmacists, Phlebotomists, Physician Associates, Receptionists and Administrators, Social Prescribers, Practice & Operational Managers, and Training Hub Co-ordinators and Leads. Our feedback demonstrated that the workshops were successful: - 98% of respondents finding them to be helpful - 97% found the workshops to be enjoyable - 90% felt more connected to their team - 94% reported that they learned skills/techniques/ideas that they could use in the job - 99% reported that the workshops allowed them to take time to reflect on their current wellbeing needs - 97% would recommend the workshops to others The positive feedback from our sessions suggest that arts-based training was an effective method to address challenges relating to wellbeing, workplace culture, communication and teamwork. There were no differences in scores when comparing feedback between respondents who engage with the arts (63% of respondents) and those that have no engagement at all (37%). This demonstrates that any bias affecting the findings was minimal and provides support for scaling this approach across the workforce. We also delivered an online webinar which reached over 100 sign-ups and was attended by 55 individuals including from across the UK, USA, Colombia, Canada, Germany, Netherlands and Pakistan. Their roles varied and included: healthcare professionals working across primary and secondary care from Public Health to Intensive Care Doctors, Professors and Medical Educators, Creative Practitioners ranging from Dance & Movement Artists, Filmmakers, and Librarians, and Researchers in: lived experience of pain; environmental health; non-verbal communication; design; medical humanities. The webinar disseminated findings from the original project and shared the ways in which the arts can play in supporting healthcare professionals, medical students and communities they serve in the UK and internationally. The webinar highlighted the diverse audience interested in this field and the value of providing digital opportunities to engage with current work. Our final phase included a knowledge exchange event to share our experiences and testimonies of the project. We bought together GP's, GP trainers, GP appraisers, Wellbeing Consultants, Chief Medical Officers, Researchers, Lecturers and Professors in Primary Care to discuss how we can build on momentum to harness the power of the arts to support wellbeing and training initiatives within primary care and explored how the sector can advocate for this approach more widely. This was a successful opportunity that brought together interested parties to discuss recommendations for the sector to support the integration of this work going forward. A full project report with the final 6 recommendations can be found on the Performing Medicine website: https://performingmedicine.com/blog/practising-well-in-primary-care-final-report/. |
| Exploitation Route | The outcomes of the project highlight the need for more academic research to be undertaken on the topic, particularly related to the theory underpinning its implementation. This can be taken forward by the connections made through the project which span across primary care and higher education institutions. There is also scope to investigate the effectiveness of arts-based training more robustly and its impact on the workforce. Non-academically, the project has demonstrated the appeal, accessibility and value of arts-based training to training providers and stakeholders across ICB's. The findings can be used by these professionals to better support the workforce and advocate for the use of the arts within healthcare education. |
| Sectors | Education Healthcare |
| URL | https://performingmedicine.com/blog/practising-well-in-primary-care-final-report/ |
| Description | The project impacted the healthcare professionals and services that engaged with the project. Follow-on interviews after 3 months found that the workshops were effective in kickstarting changes within practices demonstrating that the training was impactful and effective in changing behaviour. More time was being dedicated to prioritising staff teams, self-care strategies had been implemented and sustained, and attitudes within the workplace had improved. Participants became useful champions for the work, and resulted in further opportunities including workshops at Cumberlodge Lodge with a further 70 GP trainees and Programme Directors. The project activities were instrumental in creating awareness of arts-based opportunities and the value of collaboration between the arts and health sectors. This was supported by a communication strategy that led to articles on BJGP Life and features on the BBC World Service Health Check radio programme. This was seen as an important step to gain further support for the work but also help to demystify the terminology and combat misconceptions of what arts-based approaches entail to overcome resistance from the workforce. Another proposed solution to addressing this gathered during our event was to implement arts-based approaches earlier on in medical education and through GP VTS schemes, identifying opportunities for further development. Across the workshops we found that protected learning time and spaces for teams to come together had been eroded, which impacted job satisfaction and general wellbeing. Within the event attended by stakeholders, and further conversations with ICBs we have strongly advocated for the need to address this issue. A need for policy and higher-level organisations to support the integration of arts-based approaches was recognised as an area to target as next steps. Additionally, by bringing together clinicians, appraisers and medical educators, a fruitful discussion arose as to how arts-based methods could speak to current needs and strategies across the NHS which are focusing on retention but also to institutions such as the General Medical Council who have new guidance stating that doctors must be practising kindness. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2024 |
| Sector | Education,Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Policy & public services |
| Description | "GP wellbeing: arts-based workshops offer a fresh approach" - BJGP Life |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Article written for BJGP Life about the workshops. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://bjgplife.com/gp-wellbeing-arts-based-workshops-offer-a-fresh-approach/ |
| Description | BBC World Service's Health Check programme |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Project featured on the BBC Health Check programme on the 26 Jun 2024. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct5t8q |