Skills, Knowledge and Education
The skills needed to identify Creative Health opportunities, making a social prescription, and facilitating a Creative Health intervention are different but interdependent. Recognising the importance of interprofessional knowledge sharing and understanding from commissioners, service providers, link workers and clinicians is integral to the development of quality non-clinical Creative Health approaches.
Supporting collaboration and knowledge exchange with the wider workforce can create a supportive environment for delivery, quality engagement for those referred to Creative Health and greater chance of long-term culture change.
Identify and provide the supplementary skills Creative Health practitioners may need to support people with additional medical needs, such as mental health first aid, management of specific health conditions and safeguarding.
Establish joint training between cultural practitioners, link workers and health practitioners.
Share practice across sectors by developing and contributing to information exchange, networking events, newsletters or provision of digital resources.
Provide creative opportunities for advocacy and information sharing with the wider workforce.
Support
One of the enablers to workforce development at all levels is the ability to share and address gaps in knowledge, skills, and confidence.
The professional support and supervision that can be shared between clinical and non-clinical colleagues and the acknowledgment of the value of that process creates parity in a system that requires levels of governance and process to ensure the continued development of programmes of work and the workforce that come together to deliver them.
Build personal and professional capacity by developing networks that can provide peer to peer support.
Develop a culture in which Creative Health providers are given supervision and opportunities to talk through challenges and concerns.
The Creative Health workforce is supported by a broad governance framework which includes good networking, collaboration, sign posting to other services, escalation of issues to other teams.
Use creative activities to support the health and wellbeing of staff in the health and social care sector.
Illustrative Examples
Skills, Knowledge & Education
Example of: Knowledge exchange to support management of additional needs
Arts Lab
Cornwall and The Isles Of Scilly
Skills, Knowledge & Education
Example of: Creative Sector, VCSE Sector and Local Authority joint training
Creativity Works: co|Create Programme
Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire
Support
Example of: Creative Health supporting NHS staff health and wellbeing
Our Healthier South East London Integrated Care System (ICS)
South East London