The Power of Art in Healthcare
A stunning new art wall has been unveiled at the West Midlands Rehabilitation Centre (WMRC) thanks to an incredible donation of artwork to BCHC Charity from local artist Sairah Din.
The art wall is the third to be introduced as part of BCHC Charity’s Arts & Culture in Health scheme, which aimed to encourage patient engagement and therapy through arts activities, as well as brighten spaces across the Trust with beautiful works of art. The new wall was unveiled as part of a Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness Event at the centre on Tuesday 4 March, which was designed to highlight patients’ stories and raise awareness of the impact of the condition, focussing on the experiences of those who live with MS. One of Sairah’s pieces is the first to be hung on the wall, a true testament to the therapeutic power of art in healthcare.
Sairah, a 56-year-old mother of two, was diagnosed with primary-progressive MS in 2008. An ex-primary school teacher who loved gardening, travelling, and DIY, her life drastically changed following her diagnosis; “ The pain affects you in so many ways emotionally and physically. Fatigue is the hardest to express because there is no emotion; I am too tired to even think.”
In early 2024, she took up painting to strengthen her hands. “My hands and arms had become so weak I could barely hold a spoon to feed myself. It was then I decided I needed to do something”, she says. A friend gave Sairah some painting supplies, suggesting it might help to strengthen her hands and arms.
“I picked up the brush with two hands and started dabbing the paints on the canvas. As I painted and watched the canvas fill with colour, I started to smile and feel excited and happy. I loved the process so much. I could do something!
I painted more and more, loving painting places I would dream of, and painting my feelings. I cannot describe the impact it had on me mentally. I found a new lease of life. My arms are getting stronger, and I am doing something that will make my children proud of me.”
The event at the WMRC featured presentations from Sairah, as well as the MS Society, the BCHC Patient Experience Team, and clinical staff from the centre, followed by a drop-in marketplace of activities and information. The event was an opportunity to highlight the services offered within BCHC for people living with MS, as well as to get feedback from service users about their experiences, find out how they might want to get involved in future projects, and create a space for them to connect and support one another. Specialist Physiotherapist and MS Team Lead Priya Chitre said, “The aim is to look at what can be done to support people with MS to have a better quality of life,” said Priya.
“We don’t ‘treat’ people so much as look at all domains that have an impact on their ability to live as independently as possible, such as their mobility, access to communication technology, social needs and general medical needs… We serve as a single point of contact that can refer or signpost people on to additional different services and sources of support, empowering individual through the best information and advice and setting them up to live with their condition better.”
Sairah told us why she felt it important to attend the event and donate one of her paintings to the centre: “I want to share my story to raise awareness, not just of the challenges I’ve faced, but of the powerful impact that creative activity, art, and music as therapy has had on my life, my health, and my wellbeing. MS is part of me but it’s not in charge of me.”
BCHC Charity would like to offer our sincere thanks to Sairah for the beautiful donation, which will remain proudly on display at the WMRC.