Havens: Stories and Portraits from NHS Lothian
In a time of reduced public confidence in NHS provision, how does workplace infrastructure and break-time provision effect the wellbeing and retention of NHS staff, both clinical and non-clinical?
Project details
| Project lead | Lottie Davies |
|---|---|
| Start date | August 2022 |
| End date | July 2024 |
Through the media of photography, audio, collaborative investigation and observation, this major project considered the experience of those working within the National Health Service in Scotland over an 18-month period between 2022-24, with particular attention to break-time use within NHS workplace infrastructure.
The project’s principal research question was What is it like to work in the NHS in the 21st century? Is there a difference in experience between the working lives of clinical and non-clinical staff in the NHS context? Is provision of appropriate break-time locations in NHS estate sites and in-field work locations linked with staff wellbeing, satisfaction and retention?
This work contributes to the understanding of real-world working conditions at a critical time in the history of the National Health Service in the UK. As global political discourse leans away from state-funded welfare systems, the NHS faces an uncertain future, while those individuals who provide its services are as committed to its founding principles as ever. This commitment, however, is under strain from under-resourcing, the expectation to work outside contracted hours and insufficient provision of workplace break spaces.
As a project within the Centre for Arts and Health, ‘Havens’ contributes to critical scholarship at a crucial point in time for our health and wellbeing. The research also aligns with the Institute of Photography’s aims of integrating emerging technologies into immersive narratives and fostering collaboration, addressing societal narratives and global challenges.
The research was undertaken by Lottie Davies and Craig Easton using qualitative interviews, portrait and still-life photography, workshops and observation of working practices across various NHS locations within the Lothians, Scotland.
Understanding the physical spaces where individuals take their breaks, and the psychological impact of those breaks (in nature, length and location), within the context of each individual’s working role within the NHS was key to the research, its output and impact. Multiple methods of investigation including recorded interviews, informal observation and questioning, in conjunction with formal portraiture and observational still life photography, were employed to achieve a textured and multi-layered set of data from which to produce multi-faceted outcomes.
Project team
Project lead - Lottie Davies
Lottie Davies is an artist, writer and educator based in Cornwall and London.
Davies’ work has won recognition in numerous awards including the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Award, the Arte Laguna Prize, and the Young Masters Prize. Her collaboration on Dreams of Your Life with Hide & Seek/Film 4.0 was BAFTA-nominated in 2012. In recent years she has developed her practice to employ moving image, audio, text and interactive installation alongside large format photographs. This mixed media approach was crystallised in her seven-year project Quinn which was widely exhibited across the UK and published in a limited-edition monograph in 2021. In 2022 she began an 18-month residency with NHS Lothian in Scotland, alongside photographer Craig Easton, which resulted in exhibitions, a publication and permanent archive, launched in 2024.
Lottie Davies is a BAFTA-nominated artist and writer based in Cornwall and London. Her work is exhibited and collected internationally. She has been the recipient of the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Award, The Young Masters Prize, and the Arte Laguna Prize for Photography amongst others. Her practice employs moving image, audio, text and interactive installation alongside photography. This mixed media approach was crystallized in her seven-year project Quinn which was widely exhibited across the UK and published in a limited-edition monograph in 2021. lottiedavies.com
Craig Easton is a Scottish photographer whose work is deeply rooted in the documentary tradition. He makes long-term projects exploring issues around social policy, identity and a sense of place, in a research-based practice that weaves a narrative between contemporary experience and history. In April 2021, he was awarded the title of Photographer of the Year at the SONY World Photography Awards and is the current recipient of The Arnold Newman Prize for Portraiture in the USA. He has published three monographs: Fisherwomen, Bank Top and Thatcher’s Children. craigeaston.com
External team members
- Craig Easton
Funders
- Tonic Arts, part of NHS Lothian Charity
Outputs & outcomes
The research outputs encompass more than 70 artworks and accompanying audio works, an archive of the same, a publication including a 6000-word piece of creative non-fiction, and multiple touring exhibitions in exterior and interior spaces. The location of these exhibitions and the publication, specifically placed to engage the public on a daily basis, means that many thousands of visitors, patients and workers within the NHS will be able to engage with the research and its findings.
Project media & news
