Poems in the Waiting Room
Encyclopedia
Poems in the Waiting Room (PitWR) is a U.K.-based and registered arts in health charity. The main aim of the charity is to supply short collections of poems for patients in National Health Service
General Practice
waiting room
s to read while waiting to see their doctor. The aim is to promote poetry
, and to make the paient's wait more pleasant. The service is free to the waiting rooms and general practice managers, and is supported by grants and donations. The poems are presented as A4 sized three-fold cards typically reproducing between six and eight poems. Batches of cards are printed and distributed to waiting rooms four times a year. Patients are invited to take the cards away with them.
An additional service provided by the charity is 'PiTWR for Hospitals'. This provides larger print-runs of the poetry cards for distribution in hospitals. These are adapted to display the hospitals own message and sponsorship details.
A key consideration for the charity is the selection of poems. Guidelines for the selection of poems have been devised with this in mind, and with help from a consultant psychiatrist as well as from poets. To quote the Editor "In a patient centred health service, poetry arts in health too needs to be patient centred. The readers are patients - the worried well and the worried sick. The poems selected draw from the springs of well-being. In time of trouble, a measure of comfort is welcome". The selection of poems is therefore different from, for example, the poetry that patients may themselves write as writing therapy
. Poems selected for inclusion in PiTWR collections are a mix of contemporary work and poems from the canon of English poetry. Translations of poems from other traditions are also included. The essential is that they all contain positive images of hope, home, security, safe journey and arrival, beauty and transcendence, love and loving. The approach is indeed more akin to bibliotherapy
rather than art therapy. Submissions from poets are encouraged, and a set of guidelines is provided to indicate the sort of poetry that meets the need of the charity.
In addition to the selection, production and distribution of the poetry cards the charity also undertakes research into the cost effectiveness of the scheme, and supports related arts in health initiatives. Recent work focusses on the extension of the scheme to support the production of special editions tailored for distribution in hospitals, rather than general practice waiting rooms. Collaborative work with other arts in health or literature based organisations, such as The Reader (magazine)
is actively pursued.
The U.K. based charity has attracted wider attention, and encourages collaboratiion with projects set up in other countries, where these projects adopt the same editorial policy. Examples include Poems in the Waiting Room New Zealand
established in 2008, based at Dunedin.
External link: Poems in the Waiting Room
External link: Poems in the Waiting Room(NZ)
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
General Practice
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
waiting room
Waiting room
A waiting room is a building, or more commonly a part of a building where people sit or stand until the event they are waiting for occurs.There are generally two types of waiting room. One is where individuals leave one at a time, for instance at a doctor's office or a hospital, or outside a school...
s to read while waiting to see their doctor. The aim is to promote poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, and to make the paient's wait more pleasant. The service is free to the waiting rooms and general practice managers, and is supported by grants and donations. The poems are presented as A4 sized three-fold cards typically reproducing between six and eight poems. Batches of cards are printed and distributed to waiting rooms four times a year. Patients are invited to take the cards away with them.
An additional service provided by the charity is 'PiTWR for Hospitals'. This provides larger print-runs of the poetry cards for distribution in hospitals. These are adapted to display the hospitals own message and sponsorship details.
A key consideration for the charity is the selection of poems. Guidelines for the selection of poems have been devised with this in mind, and with help from a consultant psychiatrist as well as from poets. To quote the Editor "In a patient centred health service, poetry arts in health too needs to be patient centred. The readers are patients - the worried well and the worried sick. The poems selected draw from the springs of well-being. In time of trouble, a measure of comfort is welcome". The selection of poems is therefore different from, for example, the poetry that patients may themselves write as writing therapy
Writing therapy
Writing therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses the act of writing and processing the written word as therapy. Writing therapy posits that writing one's feelings gradually eases pain and strengthens the immune system...
. Poems selected for inclusion in PiTWR collections are a mix of contemporary work and poems from the canon of English poetry. Translations of poems from other traditions are also included. The essential is that they all contain positive images of hope, home, security, safe journey and arrival, beauty and transcendence, love and loving. The approach is indeed more akin to bibliotherapy
Bibliotherapy
Bibliotherapy is an expressive therapy that uses an individual's relationship to the content of books and poetry and other written words as therapy. Bibliotherapy is often combined with writing therapy. Bibliotherapy has been shown to be effective in the treatment of depression...
rather than art therapy. Submissions from poets are encouraged, and a set of guidelines is provided to indicate the sort of poetry that meets the need of the charity.
In addition to the selection, production and distribution of the poetry cards the charity also undertakes research into the cost effectiveness of the scheme, and supports related arts in health initiatives. Recent work focusses on the extension of the scheme to support the production of special editions tailored for distribution in hospitals, rather than general practice waiting rooms. Collaborative work with other arts in health or literature based organisations, such as The Reader (magazine)
The Reader (magazine)
The Reader is a Liverpool-based literary magazine published quarterly by . The magazine was founded in 1997 by Sarah Coley, Jane Davis, and Angela Macmillan with a grant from the University of Liverpool's School of English. It operated as part of the University of Liverpool until 2008 when the...
is actively pursued.
The U.K. based charity has attracted wider attention, and encourages collaboratiion with projects set up in other countries, where these projects adopt the same editorial policy. Examples include Poems in the Waiting Room New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
established in 2008, based at Dunedin.
External link: Poems in the Waiting Room
External link: Poems in the Waiting Room(NZ)