[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news-3716-EN":3},{"permalink":4,"news_id":5,"tile_image":6,"summary":7,"body":8,"posted":9,"pk":10,"images":11,"tags":35,"published":36,"title":37},"\u002Fnews\u002F3716\u002Fend_bed_blocking",3716,"blog_3716_636735554495483834.jpg","\u003Ca href=\"\u002FGailArmstrong\">Gail Armstrong\u003C\u002Fa> gets ready to reveal her latest art installation as part of the campaign to end bed blocking in the UK","\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">Beds have been converted into art in a bid by artists to change attitudes and highlight how damaging bed-blocking is to people&rsquo;s health and wellbeing, as well as the economy.&nbsp;\u003C\u002Fp>\r\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">Bed blocking is the long-term occupation of hospital beds due to a shortage of suitable care elsewhere, this practise not only causes distress to the patient but is also estimated to cost the NHS up to&nbsp;&pound;3bn a year.\u003C\u002Fp>\r\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">Elder.org are behind this \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.endbedblocking.org\u002F\">campaign\u003C\u002Fa> which aims to raise awareness to the issue and ultimately put a stop to the practise in the long run.\u003C\u002Fp>\r\n\u003Cdiv class=\"xpdxpnd pVFdhc vkc_np\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mh=\"1px\">Pete Dowds, chief executive of Elder, a care provider offering live-in care and home care, founded the campaign. He said: &ldquo;This is the very first movement of its kind. Bringing together artists, doctors and innovators. It&rsquo;s not about lobbying for more money, it&rsquo;s about shifting attitudes, and these installations really provoke a response.&rdquo;\u003C\u002Fdiv>\r\n\u003Cdiv class=\"xpdxpnd pVFdhc vkc_np\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-mh=\"1px\">\r\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"\u002Fartists\u002FGailArmstrong\u002Fview\">Paper Artist Gail Armstrong\u003C\u002Fa> is proud to be involved in the project, she is 1 of 10 UK artists invited to create an art installation from a bed, each of them being displayed at different times in different pop-up locations around the UK, before being brought together for an exhibition in London:\u003C\u002Fp>\r\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\r\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">\"Over the last three weeks, ten artists across the UK have been leading the Campaign to End &lsquo;Bed Blocking&rsquo;. Dropped in iconic locations throughout the country, their bed-based installations have taken the nation by storm.&rdquo; Elder\u003C\u002Fp>\r\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">Gail tells us a but more about her bed in her artists statement for the piece - \"Bed of Roses\u003C\u002Fp>\r\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">'In creating this art piece for the campaign to end bed blocking, paper seemed the perfect medium to use as a metaphor for the paperwork and bureaucracy that slow the process of being discharged from hospital. Going home after recovery from illness should be a positive experience with as little entanglement as possible, yet we hear too often of people being trapped in their hospital beds with nowhere to go.\u003C\u002Fp>\r\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">&ldquo;Bed Of Roses&rdquo; tries to positively reflect those thoughts. It is a play on the expression &lsquo;bed of roses&rsquo; used convey a happy, carefree life. Larger-than-life paper sculpture roses ramble through the metal structure of a bed that is reminiscent of victorian hospital beds, looping in and back on themselves so that it&rsquo;s impossible to lie on the bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\r\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">The roses are thorn free - there are no hidden negatives here. But what are hidden amongst the roses are small butterflies and insects, little details to give secret pleasures - often in life it is the small things that make a real difference yet can go unnoticed.\u003C\u002Fp>\r\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">I deliberately kept the colours of the piece minimal to keep the clarity of the piece and concept, wanting to keep a sense of harmony in this visually complex piece. Continuing the theme, as a final detail, rather than signing the artwork conventionally, the name and signature is added as a plant label.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\r\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">To see Gail's bed launched&nbsp;pop over to&nbsp;Primrose Hill, London on October 1st, if you'd like to see it after than&nbsp;it is being&nbsp;shown at \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcandidarts.wordpress.com\">Candid Arts Gallery\u003C\u002Fa> on 12th and 13th October alongside the other nine bed installations with an additional 7 mystery pieces by big-name artists.\u003C\u002Fp>\r\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">&nbsp;\u003C\u002Fp>\r\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">v\u003C\u002Fp>","2018-09-26T10:45:00#3716","news",[12,13,15,17,19,21,23,25,27,29,31,33],{"filename":6},{"filename":14},"blog_3716_636735554592279412.jpg",{"filename":16},"blog_3716_636735555072716534.jpg",{"filename":18},"blog_3716_636735555286286298.jpg",{"filename":20},"blog_3716_636735555411320467.jpg",{"filename":22},"blog_3716_636735555540574632.jpg",{"filename":24},"blog_3716_636735555664888477.jpg",{"filename":26},"blog_3716_636735555805351981.jpg",{"filename":28},"blog_3716_636735555943465139.jpg",{"filename":30},"blog_3716_636735556100967811.jpg",{"filename":32},"blog_3716_636735557292841426.jpg",{"filename":34},"blog_3716_636735557431923515.jpg","##","2018-09-26T10:45:00","End Bed Blocking"]