Case study:

11 May 2010

Art and Craft Group in Swaffham & Litcham Home Hospice

Key points

Swaffham & Litcham Home Hospice is running weekly art and craft sessions for small groups of its patients in a supportive environment.

The sessions, which cater for up to 10 patients at a time, give patients the opportunity to try something new outside their home and to meet new people. It also offers respite for the carers.

The Art and Craft Group has proved very popular with both patients and their families. Patients say they feel more relaxed and are better able to deal with their life-threatening or terminal illness. As one patient commented: ‘It takes us out of ourselves and [gives us] a chance to talk about our worries.It is good to talk to people who understand our problems and are able to offer help.’

The main lesson is that most people benefit from doing something they would not normally do and that it can help to spark new interests.

The group is run by a coordinator with the help of a number of volunteers and the aim is to have a ratio of three patients to one carer so that conversation can be guaranteed. It is funded from Home Hospice funds with the costs being around £150 a year for materials and up to £400 for transport, depending on how many need help getting to and from the venue. The organisers try to bring in experts at regular intervals to demonstrate particular techniques and enthuse the patients.

The main challenges of the exercise have been finding art and craft projects that can be completed in a relatively short time and being able to respond to a patient not feeling well enough to continue with the current project but having an alternative available so that it appears seamless. But the team makes every effort to ensure the patients’ own ideas are realised wherever possible since this makes it doubly rewarding for them.