Angela Rippon, TV presenter and Strictly Come Dancing star, recently visited Chelsea and Westminster Hospital to learn about the CW+ Arts for All programme and the way we use dance to positively impact the wellbeing of our hospital community. Angela is a prominent media advocate for the positive impact of dance on physical and mental health, and how that could potentially help relieve NHS pressures.
Greeted enthusiastically by all, Angela toured the hospital and paid a surprise visit to the CW+ Studio where our partners Age UK were holding a line dancing class. Angela, who was accompanied on the day by Gia Gray, the Associate Director of the Royal Academy of Dance, joined in immediately, delighting the other participants. The line dancing class forms part of the CW+ Arts for All programme, which brings a daily dose of music, performance and creative activities into the hospital, using the arts as a tool for healing. The Age UK sessions encourage participants to incorporate dance and movement into their weekly routine to improve their strength and coordination. For hospital outpatients and the local community, these classes act as a support network and create a space for interaction, combatting loneliness and isolation.
Angela also met the Trust’s Chief Executive, Lesley Watts, and learnt more about our pioneering Arts in Health programme, which focuses on the link between human health and the environment. She was then given a tour of the extensive CW+ Chelsea and Westminster Hospital art collection and visited the adult Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the adjacent indoor Sky Garden, meeting clinicians and hearing about how we can incorporate movement into the space.
Angela said: ‘What a fascinating, fun and inspiring time I had with the Arts for All team at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. I was able to see for myself the truly positive effect that music and dance can have on the wellbeing and recovery of staff and patients.
‘And this has confirmed my belief in the power of dance to achieve all round fitness and health, of mind and body, whatever your age. Congratulations CW+ for such an inspired programme to improve and maintain the health of your patients – and staff.’
Chris Chaney, Chief Executive of CW+, said: ‘Angela is a broadcasting legend who captured the hearts of the nation when she appeared on Strictly. She’s also a passionate advocate of using dance to get everyone moving and rehabilitate people with long-term health conditions, and we were very grateful to her for coming to see some of the work we do here at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. We’re looking forward to working together in the future.’
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