Justin explained his role as a connector across NHS regional structures, local government public health assurance, and national DHSC policy—able to influence, convene and help “open doors” for Creative Health.

Some of his key messages were as follows:

• Start with the evidence base—and keep strengthening it. Be clear what evidence your practice draws on, keep monitoring impact, and stay up to date with the latest learning so practice remains evidence informed.
• Match the creative method to the health pathway. Different creative “vectors” have different strength of evidence for specific conditions; for example there’s strong evidence for dance and Parkinson’s
• Use existing system “routes in” to scale. The most actionable delivery vehicles include social prescribing, NHS arts therapies, and connecting into integrated clinical pathways and neighbourhood models.
• Focus implementation. “Creative Health helps everything” is hard to operationalise; prioritising a small number of clear, evidence-backed “drum beats” each year makes scale more achievable (e.g., Parkinson’s & dance; children’s mental health and creativity).
• Embed Creative Health across strategies, not one fragile standalone strategy. The preferred approach is weaving Creative Health into multiple strategies/policy documents, so it is more resilient and creates more entry points for frontline action.
• Be realistic about money—frame Creative Health as an enabler, not a new funding stream. Shifting funding flows (hospital to community) is difficult even with strong evidence; Creative Health should be positioned as a credible, outcome-linked contributor and collateral benefit that strengthens the case for arts and culture.

All Together Now

Guilia Bianchini, Creative Producer at the Bristol Beacon, shared ‘All Together Now’, a new multi-year project using arts and creativity to help reduce loneliness across the West of England, with the Impact Alliance. Guilia describe the range of funding opportunities that are currently open, to support creative projects that help people feel more connected through arts, culture and creativity.

To find out more information and apply, please click here.