Art in the hospital

The Royal London Children’s Hospital officially opened in March 2012 and over the past two years Vital Arts have been working with a variety of critically acclaimed artists and designers to transform the walls of the children’s wards through pioneering and innovative design within a hospital environment.

With 130 beds across five wards and covering London’s busiest paediatric Accident & Emergency department, The Royal London Children’s Hospital, run by Barts Health NHS Trust, is one of the leading children’s hospitals in the UK, caring for more than 40,000 children and young people each year from London, Essex and across the UK and Europe.

It is well documented in medical research that children find visiting hospital, no matter how routine the visit or how often they come, a frightening and stressful experience. Art has proven throughout paediatric hospitals all over the world, to be an invaluable aid for staff in either distracting children, or positively engaging children receiving sometimes painful and frightening treatments by supporting the individual needs of each patient. Through consultation with medical staff and patients Vital Arts have commissioned artists and designers that showcase dynamic design whilst meeting the patient’s needs.

Commissioned artists and designers that feature across the five wards throughout The Royal London Children’s Hospital are: artist Morag Myerscough, textile artist Donna Wilson, wooden toy designers Miller Goodman, product designer Tord Boontje, children’s author, illustrator and rug designer Chris Haughton and surface and textile designer Ella Doran.