Health authority seeks to inspire staff through poetry

Birmingham
Health Authority has given each of its 33,000 workers a book of poetry in an
effort to promote positivity among staff.

Peter
Spilsbury, director of performance and strategy at the health authority, said
giving the book, called The Gift, will cost £40,000, but he defends the
expense, saying it will help staff at work and was not coming from patient care
budgets.

The
book has contributions from a variety of authors, including Carol Ann Duffy,
poet laureate Andrew Motion and Fay Weldon.

Editor
David Morley said he hoped the book could be distributed to all NHS staff
nationwide.

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"This
book wants to give the NHS something which is serious, entertaining, permanent,
meaningful, and articulate," he said. "The writers hope that their
work might inspire medical workers to reflect on how people use their service feel
and think about their experiences."

By Quentin Reade