Bringing Art into Hospitals The medical world is gradually realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play an important role in helping patients to get better. As part of nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the museums and into public places, some of the country's best artists have been called in to change older hospitals and to soften the hard edges of modern buildings. Of the 2500 national health service hospitals in Britain, almost 100 now have very valuable collections of present art in passages, waiting areas and treatment rooms. These recent movements first started by one artist, Peter Senior, who set up his studio at a Manchester hospital in northeastern England during the early 1970s.He felt the artist had lost his place in modern society, and that art should be enjoyed by a wider audience . A common hospital waiting room might have as many as 5 000 visitors each week. What a better place to hold regular exhibitions of art! Senior held the first exhibition of his own paintings in the out--patient's waiting area of the Manchester Royal Hospital in 1975.Believed to be Britain's first hospital artist. Senior was so much in demand that he was soon joined by a team of six young art school graduates. The effect is striking. Now in the passages and waiting rooms the visitor experiences a full view of fresh colours, playful images and restful courtyards. The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expensive drugs when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that patients who had a view onto gardens needed half the number of strong pain killers compared with patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at. Some best artists of Britain have been called in to  _  .
set up new hospitals make the corners of the hospital collect paintings bring art into hospitals help patients recover from serious illnesses