Local artist shares his experiences of how art aided his recovery
A local artist described how art aided his recovery from a stroke at a recent event for stroke survivors at Charing Cross Hospital.
Stroke survivors and their families explored their experiences of stroke and how art aided their recovery at the event held on Wednesday 9 December. The event was hosted by the Imperial Stroke Centre and the Friends of Charing Cross Hospital is part of the monthly Stroke support groups held at Charing Cross Hospital.
Roger Partridge, a sculptor who has studied and worked both in the UK and Italy, suffered a stroke in August 2013 and was treated at Charing Cross Hospital.
Roger Partridge said:“The arts rehabilitation programme at Charing Cross Hospital was instrumental in aiding my recovery. I saw how it helped other stroke patients and the real benefit it was bringing to them.
“As I have been an artist since 1975 the art rehabilitation encouraged me to continue the work I had started before my stroke through sketches and taking photographs. It gave me the opportunity to play around with new ideas which I could put into action once I was sufficiently recovered.
“This focus on my work was a key element in helping me return to normal life.”
Charing Cross Hospital hosts one on London’s eight hyper acute stroke units (HASUs), designed to give life-saving, clot-busting drugs (thrombolysis) to patients soon as possible after developing the symptoms of a stroke. The Hyper Acute Stroke Unit treats over 150 patients per month. In many cases the treatment they have received has been life-saving.
Arts rehabilitator Emelie Salford, who is supported by the Friends of Charing Cross Hospital, works with stroke patients using art to aid their recovery.
She said:
“Art provides many stroke patients with an outlet during their recovery and for some in particular, it can provide a key element in their recovery and return to normal life.”
Stroke is the UK’s second highest cause of death and the most common cause of adult disability. More patients are likely to survive and regain independence after suffering strokes if they are treated in specialist units (HASUs).
Since opening in 2009, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust’s HASU has performed consistently well, ensuring that more than 98% of stroke patients are treated in the specialist centre. This means stroke patients are getting the right treatment at the right time by a specialist stroke team, ensuring the best possible outcomes for them. A multidisciplinary team of specialist consultants, nurses and therapists work intensively with patients during their recovery from stroke.
Notes to editors:
- Roger Partridge is a London based sculptor. He studied sculpture both at Camberwell School of Art and The Slade School.
- Later he was offered a Rome Scholarship to study at the British School in Rome. After completing the scholarship he stayed in Italy moving to Florence where he started working in the marble workshops of Pietransanta. He returned to London in 1989, where he has continued to live and work.
- In 2002 he became an associate member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors and was elected Fellow in 2010. He has exhibited his work in Europe, America and the UK, including the Hayward Gallery (The Sculpture Show 1983) and the Royal Academy (Summer Exhibition 2006).
- His work is in private collections in Italy, France, America and the Middle East.
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