I have been spending a lot of time looking at "The Healthier Dancer Programme", which is going ahead with Dance UK. Previously in module 2 I blogged about the Healthier Dancer Programme (HDP) but now as it is going ahead I have a lot more information on the ins and outs and access to what is really going on.
This is really important to me as I am looking at ideas that the HDP is putting into practice and using some of their ideas alongside my own for inquiry.
All of the information about the HDP can be found on the Dance UK website at:
https://www.danceuk.org/healthier-dancer-programme/
The HUGE deal about this project is that it aims to help freelance dancers like myself who do not have access to specialist care for injury without either paying a lot of money to be privately seen or waiting for a long time to be seen by someone who may not be a specialist in dance. It aims to do this in many ways, one of them being setting up hub- sites around the UK.
The first hub- site is being set up and based at the Royal National Orthopedic hospital. This service is an "NHS based dance injury clinic accessible FREE via GP referral.": Dance UK 2012,
Six Major Dance Organisations, Universities and a Hospital Unite to Launch The First National Institute of Dance Medicine & Science, DanceUK website [online], available from: https://www.danceuk.org/healthier-dancer-programme/national-institute-dance-medicine-and-science/, accessed 22nd October 2012.
This is great news for dancers but it would seem not so much for the rest of the non dancing population as I found out from the comments of an article that was published in April by the BBC news.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17846564
There are many views in the comments, most show that the audience who have read the article do not appreciate dance and a lot are flippant remarks but it has made me think that maybe it is wrong to have free treatment for our high risk sport- I can't make up my mind. On the other hand, a lot of money in the NHS is spend on things that are irrelevant to myself and one example that I know of is the help of quitting smoking and treating smoking related diseases.
Of course I believe that the NHS should treat smokers, this is just an example, but if the general public allows the NHS to spend money on projects like this where there are no health benefits of smoking in the first place (what I mean is all smokers know smoking is unhealthy before they start), why not spend money on helping injured dancers when dance has so many health benefits like increasing general fitness.
Is it wrong to spend NHS money on helping injured dancers?
Is it wrong to spend NHS money on helping ill smokers who knew the health risks?
I intend to ask my interviewees the question of whether they believe this is a good idea or not to try and justify whether or not it should go ahead. What do you as a dancer think?
Dance UK 2012,
Six Major Dance Organisations, Universities and a Hospital Unite to Launch The First National Institute of Dance Medicine & Science, DanceUK website [online], available from: https://www.danceuk.org/healthier-dancer-programme/national-institute-dance-medicine-and-science/, accessed 22nd October 2012.
Branwen Jeffreys, April 2012, First dance injury clinic for NHS to open, BBC news website [online], available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17846564, accessed 22nd october 2012
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeletewhat an interesting question...one I have actually never thought about before. I am an ex-dancer and acutally did find myself injured at one point and unable to work. This was about 10 years ago and at the time, I never even thought about the NHS covering my injury expences but only because I knew they wouldn't. Like you, I'm not sure how I feel about the idea. I completely agree that there should be as much, if not more of a right for dancers to be covered as there is for smokers with health issues. A part of me thinks that smokers should have to pay for any health problems themselves. why should the tax payer pay for something someone is knowingly doing to themselves..especially if you are not a smoker yourself! The problem is, a dancer also knows that there is a risk involved in terms of future health problems. I know very few dancers that have not incurred some sort of injury along the way. But if we were to go down that lane, all physical occupations would be at risk. Builders straining muscles, painters falling off ladders, chefs cutting fingers off!! I'm affraid I have been no help at all here Emily, but I have found the topic to be very thought provoking and look forward to hearing your thoughts along the way
Sarah
This is a great topic! But like Sarah, I don't know where I stand! I can very easily see things from the perspective of the non dancing public; the scheme is catering to a very select few and the funding could have been spent on a more encompassing project.
ReplyDeleteHowever, for dancers this will be massively beneficial! As sarah says, I don't know a dancer that hasn't been injured at some point, and going to the doctors or even the hospital NEVER does any good, because they don't understand that your focus is getting back dancing ASAP, not resting for months longer than you need to. Plus, doctors or health professionals that have zero dance knowledge often struggle (in my experience) to understand how the injury has been sustained, has they have no point of reference to movements and the such. To have a clinic we could go to where the staff have a working knowledge of dance and understand a dancers needs would be a massive help.
In conclusion, I'm thrilled about it, but feeling guilty (absurdly, as dancers get very little recognition most of the time) about being given this exclusive service!
Thank you for your replies! I did ask the question of whether or not dancers should be entitled to free specialist healthcare on the NHS in my interviews. A few of the replies were like ours - a bit uncertain, the participants thought it was a good idea but felt a bit guilty about it, but the majority of the replies were very positive. Some of the participants likened the idea to someone with back problems or eye problems who sits behind a desk all day looking at a computer screen for a living. I'm still not entirely sure where I stand with an answer to this question but I can see how it would really benefit dancers and the rest of the patients waiting for an appointment. Surely it would save a lot of money as well by sending the dancer directly to a dance specialist and having a diagnosis in the first appointment than to a variety of different people who don't understand the cause of the injury.
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