ARC NWC Senior Research Fellow Dr Emma Halliday has been getting her creative juices flowing for a new book of NHS poetry.

Emma’s words are part of a newly released anthology which features poems written by professionals connected to the NHS as well as leading UK poets.

The anthology offers a unique insight into the real experiences of the people at the heart of the NHS – from the student nurse at the start of his career to the heart surgeon on the eve of her retirement. It also features stories of those whose vital work is often unseen and unsung from domestic cleaning staff to sign language interpreters, researchers, etc.

Emma’s poem is called ‘Burnt Out’ . It was inspired by a BMA report which highlighted the high levels of stress and burn out among doctors and medical students, and the impact on their mental health. https://www.bma.org.uk/news/media-centre/press-releases/2019/may/serious-mental-health-crisis-among-doctors-and-medical-students-revealed-in-bma-report

Emma, who works on the ARC NWC’s Equitable Placed-Based Health and Care (EPHC) theme at Lancaster University, said: ‘I am delighted to have my poem published in this wonderful anthology which reflects the voices of those working in and supporting the NHS. I’d encourage everyone to buy a copy to support all the staff of the NHS, especially in light of the frontline response taking place during the current COVID-19 crisis.’

The poems in the book offer unflinchingly honest and intimate accounts from the people who care for us from the moment of birth to the end of life. In crystallising the most beautiful and painful moments of being human, they speak directly to all our experience. Above all these poems are about our shared humanity. They are about the compassion and care that lie at the heart of the NHS and in all our lives. They also serve as a stark reminder of the human cost of trying to offer compassionate care in a system that is underfunded and understaffed and the importance of showing the same compassion and support to the staff we depend on to hold the NHS together.  
 
Leading UK poets have donated poems to this anthology including Michael Rosen, Roger McGough, Lemn Sissay, Sabrina Mahfouz, Kate Clanchy, Sam Guglani, Charly Cox, Molly Case,  Wendy Cope and the estates of UA Fanthorpe, Dannie Abse and Julia Darling

The book is available from bookshops and can also be purchased from the publishers at https://fairacrepress.co.uk/shop/these-are-the-hands-poems-from-the-heart-of-the-nhs/

Launch of the anthology coincides with World Poetry Day on 21st March and all proceeds from book sales are going to NHS Charities Together which supports over 135 official NHS Charities raising money for NHS hospitals, ambulance services, community and mental health services across the UK.