The Friends of Holy Cross Hospital Newsletter
Issue 18, March 2008
Click to download the latest copy March Newsletter 08 
We had good cause to celebrate when we received official confirmation that Holy Cross Hospital continues to be recognised as an Investor in People following a rigorous assessment process in April 2008. The standard is tougher in many respects than it used to be. In her report, the Assessor described people employed at Holy Cross as “extremely loyal and enthusiastic and descriptions given by them of how they are managed is testament to the effectiveness of good management practices”.
Our photograph captures the delight of a group of us, with Mary Trahar and Carol Fowlie rightly at centre-stage.
Working with small groups of patients, sometimes one to one, encourages artistic development, builds confidence, self-esteem and sometimes can improve physical mobility. In the relaxed atmosphere of the art room with several volunteer helpers we can overcome any fear and anxiety the patient may have about painting, enriching their lives by discovering new talents.
Art techniques are chosen to match the patient’s abilities. The achievement gained on discovering new talents enhances the quality of life. The painting techniques used are quite varied using ink, watercolours, acrylics and poster colours. We also have had great success with silk painting, producing beautiful scarves and ties. Simple techniques in printing methods using paint on Perspex sheets to produce monotype pictures on paper can achieve some wonderful effects. Other printing methods used are with polystyrene blocks, card, string, leaves and potatoes. Some beautiful pictures have been created using stencils and masking techniques.
One of our patients is a mouth artist and is working extremely had to produce a collection of works to be submitted for admission to the Society of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists. Another successful artist in our group has been inspired by David Hockney, Bridget Riley and other modern artists to create some excellent abstract paintings.
Each patient has a particular style and ability and with the assistance of the helpers can create work which can be produced for greeting cards or framed to be hung in their rooms or used to decorate other areas of the hospital particularly the day room. Exhibitions of their work are held twice a year and is extremely rewarding to the patient as it acknowledges their talent and encourages further development.
Patient outing to Wembley Arena
The first weekend of April was a very busy time for the new Wembley Stadium, as it hosted two FA Cup semi-finals and the contentious parade of the Beijing Olympics torch. While all this sporting sound and fury was taking place in the Stadium the adjacent Arena presented an evening event that for three Holy Cross patients and family was a much greater source of excitement.
Our party of six was treated to a stunning presentation of ‘The Blue Planet Live’ a natural history of the oceans presented on a huge scale. The BBC reduced 13 episodes of The Blue Planet down to two hours for this event and displayed it on one of the biggest screens in the UK. The original dramatic score was played live by the BBC symphony orchestra, and presented by Kate Humble. Our seating area was equivalent to the Royal Box and gave us lots of space and a brilliant view of the orchestra and screen. The evening was divided into twelve sequences that presented stunning pictures of events in and around the world’s oceans. We watched dolphins, whales, sharks, emperor penguins, polar bears, seals and the very tiny and weird creatures that live in the deep.
This combination of sound and vision on such a huge scale held all three patients spell bound. An intermission for drinks and ice cream renewed their concentration throughout the second hour-long half. We all gained a wonderful feeling for the extraordinary spectacle and beauty that exists on our ocean planet.
