TENO FU S CHO IR
Sing with Us – the benefits of arts and social prescribing Iwan Jones Head of Wellbeing, Tenovus Cancer Care
Social prescription has risen to prominence in recent years and with it the crucial role that third sector and community services or activities could and should play. The arts in particular are a well-researched and proven vehicle to facilitate social prescription – so how can that link between healthcare and social interventions be strengthened and improved? Sing with Us is a service provided by Tenovus Cancer Care for people affected by cancer and provides a perfect case study to explore some of the themes, benefits and issues that surround bringing social prescription to life.
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A desire for a more rewarding and fulfilling job led me to the opportunity to work for Tenovus Cancer Care, leaving behind the world of retail distribution. One of the major draws to this role was having the opportunity to manage services that are all designed to support people in need, including an arts-based service. In my younger years the arts, particularly singing, were an incredibly influential and important part of my life – and music still is. Getting the opportunity to combine one of my personal passions and supporting people in original ways in one role is a rare opportunity, and one I had to take. Since then I have developed my knowledge of cancer and I’ve also been able to further appreciate just how important the third sector can be in supporting people in a variety of ways, while helping them cope with a difficult time in their lives. One area I am particularly interested in is how third sector and community-based services can support the health sector in an increasingly tough and demanding environment.
Introduction In 2018, Tenovus Cancer Care is celebrating its 75th birthday. The charity started in 1943 with 10 businessmen in south Wales who came together to fund small projects to help people in need of support in their community. In the 1960s, the charity began to focus on cancer research, which led to the building of the Tenovus Institute in Cardiff, which continues to house cancer research. Tenovus Cancer Care continues to research and fundraise towards a future without cancer, while offering a range of support services to help people who have been affected by cancer.
Sing with us Tenovus Cancer Care has six distinct services, each created to provide support to people affected by cancer. This is combined with promoting lifestyle choices and behaviours that can help people to prevent the development of cancer in the first
place. These services include mobile support units offering treatment to people closer to home, a support line where dedicated nurses can provide advice and comfort to anyone dealing with cancer, and Sing with Us, a network of choirs that offer support, social integration and, of course, fun. Sing with Us has the potential to play a part in the local social prescribing scheme – a holistic framework that allows arts, social and community activities to overlap with primary healthcare provision. In early 2018 I was lucky enough to witness the idea of social prescription becoming a physical and tangible concept. Members of my team were invited to attend a conference on social prescribing in Bristol, where one of our Sing with Us choirs was also asked to perform. At this event, it was clear that there was a strong desire and appetite to use the benefits of social prescribing in the broader sense – making socially prescribed interventions and activities a more robust and practical referral method. This
© Journal of holistic healthcare
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Volume 15 Issue 3 Autumn 2018
