Artist’s Brief: Organ Donation Artwork, Southmead Hospital, North Bristol Trust
Context
Organ transplantation is one of medicine’s great success stories, transforming thousands of lives each year.
And yet, tragically, hundreds of people die each year in the UK, because organs are not available.
In the UK between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014:
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4,655 organ transplants were carried out, thanks to the generosity of 2,466 donors.
1,328 lives were saved in the UK through a heart, lung, liver or combined heart/lungs, liver/kidney or
heart/kidney transplant.
3,301 patients' lives were dramatically improved by a kidney or pancreas transplant, 188 of whom
received a combined kidney/pancreas transplant.
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Organ donation occurs at a time of great emotional distress. But by donating organs after death, the lives of
desperately ill people can be saved, helped and transformed.
Organ Donation at North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT)
NBT is keen to recognise organ donations as the last and perhaps greatest gift given by patient’s families as
well as highlighting Southmead Hospital’s specialist organ donor services. On average, two donations a week
result from deceased donors at the hospital. This tremendous, life-changing step needs to be recognised
more noticeably in our new hospital building, Brunel, where it could be seen by thousands of people each
week.
The artwork
A unique artwork can recognise and highlight this life-changing donation service at our hospital as well as
encourage people to sign up to the organ donor register.
Selection procedure:
The selection group for appointing the artist for this project will comprise four members of a project
working group, including representatives from The South West Organ Donation Team, from NBT’s organ
donation team and from the Fresh Arts programme.
Timetable:
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April – May ‘ 15
June ’15
July’ 15
Sept’ 15
Nov’ 15
artist recruitment
patients’ families consultation/unit visit/staff consultation
presentation of draft designs
sign off final designs
installation of final piece inc. H&S method statement
Budget:
The fee offered for the project is:
 £2,500 Design development
 £2,500 Materials, fabrication, installation etc.
Total: £ 5000
Expressions of Interest:
If you are interested in being considered for this project, please submit:
1. A short response to this brief, no more than one side of A4, outlining a draft approach to this
commission
2. Examples of your previous work; NBT’s system cannot accept files larger than 10MB so please
submit work on CDs if necessary
3. A current CV
Please email your submission to: Kate.allchorne@nbt.nhs.uk / sylvia.crump@nbt.nhs.uk
The closing date for submissions is 23rd April 2015
Interviews for the commission will be held on 27st May 2015; please assume your application has not been
successful if you do not hear from us before this date.
For more information or to discuss this brief in detail, please contact : kate.allchorne@nbt.nhs.uk
sylvia.crump@nbt.nhs.uk
Appendices
1. Fresh Arts
Fresh Arts is the arts programme managed by NBT, with four aims to:
Enhance patient experience by
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Acting as a catalyst for environmental improvement, thereby encouraging people to care for their
environment
Working in partnership with departments such as Estates and Facilities to ensure that ongoing
environmental improvements are rooted in good design
Integrating art into the development of all new buildings through a capital budget allocation for art
schemes, and, by doing so, delivering exemplar projects
Improve morale by
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Providing opportunities for positive involvement and outcomes for both staff and patients
Developing projects which encourage people to think positively about future changes
Making small, quick improvements to current environments
Fostering a sense of community across the Trust’s main sites by developing projects that bring
entertainment, stimulation and enjoyment to staff from both hospitals
Establish the hospital at the heart of its local community by
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Raising awareness of the hospital, its role and its activities through projects involving local schools
and community groups
Providing a space and voice for activities of the local community, generating cultural and intergenerational exchange
Generating civic pride through working in partnership with flagship arts organisations
Deliver a programme of high quality and good practice by
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Using recommended models of good practice in the commissioning of artists
Pursuing an innovative approach to working with artists as questioner, designer and facilitator rather
than merely as a maker of objects
Commissioning work of high quality, sensitive and appropriate to its context
Keeping the Fresh Arts programme fresh, innovative and inclusive and striving towards making the
programme and future arts developments award-winning
2. Context:
The services offered by NBT at Cossham Hospital include:
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a minor injuries service
a wide range of outpatient facilities
diagnostics and imaging
renal dialysis
a number of therapy services such as physiotherapy and audiology
the only midwife-led birthing centre in South Gloucestershire and Bristol
The main focus of the arts strategy during the refurbishment process was the commissioning of a piece of
public art Charter by Steve Claydon, based on the Handel Cossham memorial plaque now installed in the
main entrance, and Handel a bust of Handel Cossham by Margaret Lovell, now installed in the main reception
area.
However, at the time no funding was available to consider art on walls in public circulation spaces and
waiting rooms. Since the building’s re-opening, members of staff have commented how bland and bare the
walls are, leading to a clinical and impersonal feel in the new building, in contradiction to the Trust’s
commitment to enhancing and humanising the hospital environment.
3. Arts Strategy:
To address this shortcoming Fresh Arts, the arts programme managed by North Bristol NHS Trust,
proposes a strategy to be delivered from autumn 2014 to spring 2015. This aims to embody Common
Ground’s notion of Local Distinctiveness1 as “essentially about places and our relationship with them… as
much about the commonplace as about the rare, about the everyday as the endangered and about the
ordinary as much as the spectacular. Places are process and story as well as artefact, layer upon layer of our
continuing history”.
The programme will result in a range of outcomes:
 Improving the patient environment and humanising the clinical space by making artworks of beauty,
colour and relevance to brighten circulation and waiting areas
 Creating a sense of distinctiveness through a project process which reflects the heritage and culture
of the local area
 Building links with staff and local people, especially schoolchildren, through consultation and hands-on
workshops
 Commissioning artworks which bring a sense of cohesion, continuity, identity and individuality to an
institutionalised interior
To support the case for the proposed projects, it is useful to study the British Medical Association (BMA)
research report The psychological and social needs of patients2 published in January 2011. The report was
prepared under the auspices of the Board of Science of the BMA and serves to highlight the significant role
the arts play in meeting the psychological and social needs of patients.
The BMA report makes a strong, evidence-based case for a holistic approach to patient care, one that
addresses patients’ physical, psychological and social needs: ‘Helping an ill person back to better health requires
due account to be taken of factors other than their physiology and anatomy; meeting psychological, social, spiritual
and environmental needs are important’ (BMA, 2011, p.1). The report presents key evidence which supports
the inclusion of arts activities in healthcare settings and the design of effective healthcare environments as
having a significant impact on patient health and wellbeing.
4. Governance:
The selection group for appointing the artist for this project will comprise four members of a project
working group, including representatives from NBT and from Cossham Hospital’s League of Friends.
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2
http://commonground.org.uk/about/
http://www.bma.org.uk/images/psychologicalsocialneedsofpatients_tcm41-202964.pdf
The project working group will oversee progress on the project until delivery in spring 2015; the artist
selected will present draft designs to the group then final designs for sign off.
5. Sustainability:
NBT has a commitment to sustainability across all its projects and developments, including building the new
Southmead hospital as the most sustainable hospital in the UK. All appointed artists are encouraged to
consider the sustainability of their working methodology and the final artwork.