Council aims to integrate arts and humanities into the NHS

The Nuffield Trust and the University of Durham are joining forces to form the United Kingdom's first national coordinating council and centre for integrating arts and humanities in the NHS.

The council hopes to encourage the health service to become more humane, empathetic, and patient friendly, mainly by bringing arts and humanities into medicine across all disciplines. Plans include encouraging the study of arts and humanities in medical schools (through intercalated degrees) and in continuing professional education.

The coordinating council will be chaired by Professor Michael Baum, professor of surgery at University College London, and is backed by several heavyweight policymakers, including Professor Sir Kenneth Calman, the former chief medical officer for England, and Sir William Reid, the former health service commissioner for England, Wales, and Scotland.

The coordinating council will be supported by a new organisation, the Centre for Arts and Humanities in Health and Medicine, which will be