Arts project explores lives of renal patients
A unique arts project run at Dorset County Hospital is helping kidney dialysis patients throughout the country explore the difficult issues they face.
‘Blood Makes Noise’ is a film-based art and science project about renal failure, dialysis, diet and transplant.
The project was managed by the DCH Arts in Hospital charity and funded by the Wellcome Trust and the British Kidney Patient Association (BKPA).
Film producer Peter Snelling was an ‘artist in residence’ in the hospital’s Renal Dialysis Unit once a week for nine months in 2012 to create a film, book and blog.
Peter worked with patients in the unit to explore their stories, challenges and experiences of being on dialysis and to consider the science behind the relationship between diet and dialysis in living with renal disease. Dorset foodie and cook Jyoti Fernandes worked with the participants and renal dietitian Renuka Coghlan to create special ‘renal friendly’ recipes.
Peter said: “The project sheds light on the extraordinary world of organ donation, dialysis, plasma exchange and transplant, but ultimately it is about love, generosity and family.
“Our understanding of bio-medical science is often enhanced when it becomes relevant to our lives and the lives of people we know. The arts provide a valuable way to help us understand the lived experience of renal disease. We hope the stories in these films will provoke thought about the very important science behind both treatment and nutrition.”
Rosemary Macri, Chief Executive of the BKPA, said: “The film touches on very real issues and concerns that kidney patients and their families face when talking about future options and I hope that these moving and honest personal accounts will help others to talk through similar issues.”
As part of the ongoing project, kidney patients from around the UK are being encouraged to take part in creative tasks which will add to the real-life picture of what it’s like living life on the transplant list.
You can view the film and find out more about the project at www.mypockets.com/bloodmakesnoise
You can find out more about Arts in Hospital at www.dchft.nhs.uk/about/arts.html
Susie Palmer
