The Grand Unveiling of Newham’s QI Wall

 3rd May 2017

On the 26^th April 2017 our Trust Chair, Marie Gabriel joined service users, carers , staff and international visitors for the unveiling of Newham’s Quality Improvement wall.

Over the last few months ELFT service users, carers and staff have been working together with Jonny Glover, a local artist, to create a QI visibility wall at Newham Centre for Mental Health. The purpose of the wall at Newham is to share the quality improvement work going on locally and encourage everyone to get involved. The finished design includes our version of the Newham Greenway, a popular footpath and cycle route that runs across the area. As we journey from one end of the Greenway to the other people are working together to improve their environment and celebrate achievements along the way.

At the opening event some of our service users involved in the project spoke about the design and their involvement. One service user talked about how well-known this area is in Newham, and that it was a memorable place in her recovery; she spoke about taking walks along the Greenway during her time on one of the wards. The themes of growth and nurture were encouraged throughout the design process and this is represented by people planting seeds and nourishing them. This growth from seeds also symbolises how small ideas for quality improvement can develop and really make a difference.

Another service user who contributed to the design of the wall spoke about the meaning behind the large tree; she described it as the tree of life and how the wall is not just about Newham, it’s about Quality Improvement, which she went on to describe is something that gives us hope.

Marie Gabriel said “It was wonderful to participate in the international opening of the Newham QI wall, what was most inspiring about the event was the theme of a journey of hope, both in the co-creation of the wall and in the diverse journeys it depicts.”

Jonny Glover gave us his reflections on the project too “It was a fantastic experience working with the QI team and all the volunteers. Having lots of people involved in the design was initially daunting, but it turned out to be great fun, and I think ultimately it’s lead to an image that is both singular and meaningful to Newham. I hope the wall is able to galvanise people to get started on their own projects and I look forward to hearing how they each develop.”

The wall demonstrates how people can work together to improve something and includes posters and details about some of the achievements and the current improvement projects taking place. See some of the pictures taken during the launch event below and find out more about how the ideas and designs of our service users & carers have led to this wonderful piece of work>>

Special thanks to everyone involved in the project, and especially to the artist Jonny Glover, whose work has been shortlisted for the 2017 World Illustration Awards. All the best Jonny!