Unheard in Healthcare
In our Unheard in Healthcare venture we collected stories from all corners of the health and care community. We wanted to give people an opportunity to share their unheard story, and to spark conversations and debate between parts of the health system that don’t always have enough time to connect.
The stories were presented at Kaleidoscope’s first live storytelling event, held at the wonderful Bart’s Pathology Museum. The event also included thought-provoking talks by three speakers from different parts of health and care about what they thought was unheard in healthcare.
Everyone has a story to tell about health or healthcare – from an act of kindness you witnessed in the waiting room to an inspiring tale of overcoming the odds, and all the good, bad or ugly experiences in between. Many of these stories remain unheard, something that we wanted to help put right.
How?
Gaining inspiration from the Bench Diary project by Dessa Lohrey, The Moth storytelling events and the Health Foundation’s A Mile in My Shoes project, we put notebooks in public areas in a number of sites – from hospitals to charities – so that anyone could share their stories.
Why?
As humans we use stories to connect, to share and to make sense of the world. Stories open up channels of communication that evoke empathy and understanding. This helps to ensure that different ideas and perspectives are engaged with when decisions are made, which has become ever more important in light of the huge challenges we face in health and care.