NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) has confirmed its commitment to creating a safe and inclusive place for all staff, patients and visitors, by installing new artworks at two of its hospitals.
The installations, at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) and Inverclyde Royal Hospital (IRH) has rounded off Pride Month, during which NHSGGC – through its LGBTQ+ Staff Forum – held a number of events to celebrate the diversity within hospital staff and the wider population of Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
The QEUH work has been installed in the atrium giving great visibility to our thousands of staff, patients and visitors who pass through the hospital every day. It consists of an image of the Pride flag, alongside a celebration of key milestones in Scotland’s equality journey over the past 40 or so years.
Painted by young artists Hana Lindsay and Skye Carty, the art was facilitated by Artisan Artworks, who have close links to LGBTQ+ community youth groups, and provide work placements for care experienced young people. The artwork at the IRH consists of a corridor adorned with painted floor to ceiling wall panels – each one in a different colour of the Pride flag – and ending in a depiction of the Pride flag. Designed by Reece McDonald – a member of the estates and facilities team at the IRH – and painted by artists from Artisan Artworks, it has been created to celebrate and honour a wide community of staff at the hospital, and across Inverclyde.
Jackie Sands, senior arts and health lead at NHSGGC, said: 'NHSGGC is committed to providing safe and welcoming surroundings for all its staff, patients and visitors, and our Arts in Health Programme has a critical role to play in achieving that goal.'
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is committed to creating an inclusive organisation where colleagues feel empowered to be their authentic selves and patients receive the best possible person-centred care, free from discrimination and fear. The artworks, which were paid for through funding from the NHSGGC Endowment Fund, are a visible commitment to NHSGGC’s focus on inclusion and its specific equality outcomes, whereby 'NHSGGC is perceived to be a safe and inclusive place by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans people'.
