Editorial

The creative industries and visual communicators are continually looking to the future – to new possibilities, opportunities and ideas – and such forward thinking is essential to our growth and survival. However, of late, one cannot read a newspaper or listen to the news without avoiding mention of the current worldwide economic crisis or ‘downturn’. There is no doubt that this current climate has, and will continue to have, an impact on our services, perhaps for a considerable length of time.

Lara Ratnaraja, sector development director from creative, cultural and digital industries at Business Link in the West Midlands, UK, warns that:

“Creative companies – like any other – must be mindful to watch how the economic downturn impacts on their clients, audiences and consumers and to plan for how this may impact on what they do.”¹

Ratnaraja suggests these companies need to look at ways of diversifying services into new activity, with an emphasis on branding, marketing and increasing skills.

The current UK Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, believes that the NHS is well placed to meet the challenges of the tougher economic climate ahead.² Since NHS funding is guaranteed only up to April 2011, those working as visual communications within the NHS might be less than confident about their long term future. John Appleby, chief economist on health policy at the King’s Fund, a think‐tank working for better health, has warned that, at best, the NHS can expect funding to do no more than keep pace with inflation from 2011.³ Professor Robert Harris, Policy Director of Monitor, the independent regulator for UK foundation trusts, has speculated that with less money coming into the exchequer as companies go into liquidation, and more money being paid to unemployed people as benefits increase, there will be a general squeeze on public expenditure.⁴ If this were to occur, there would be concerns of job losses and tightening or slashing of budgets. The sound finanical footing claimed by the Health Secretary, namely a £1.7 billion surplus, which staff have worked hard to achieve, may be ‘clawed back to the Treasury, rather than spent on further improvements to care.’⁵

All this, of course, is speculation, and, in fact, the NHS has fared reasonably well despite the continued downturn. However, with headlines such as “Pro photography retailer hit by credit‐crunch” and “another photo agency goes bankrupt”, the commercial photographic world of retailers and agencies alike have not been so fortunate.⁶ In the US, medical schools and teaching hospitals have suffered severe budget cuts and it is feared that these cuts will seriously affect patient treatment and impede medical progress.⁷ Daniel Ennis, Executive Dean of Administration at Harvard University Medical School, said:

“We are working incredibly hard to find expense reductions that will not in any way compromise our core research and teaching mission and strategic priorities.”⁸

Among the speculators and analysts who surround us, are those who believe that the challenge of financial cuts globally, across both public and private health care will provide increased opportunities by speeding up the process of innovation and development of new techniques.⁹ Perhaps with consistent forward thinking, the possibility of growth and a positive outlook are always there, regardless of the state of the economic climate.

Notes

¹http://www.birminghampost.net/birmingham-business/birmingham-business-news/creative-industries-news/2008/08/31/creative-industries-well-placed-to-beat-credit-crunch-65233-21643994/ (accessed 15/01/2009)

²www.dh.gov.uk/en/News/Recentstories/DH_091665 (accessed 12/12/2008)

³http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Health/NHS-Warning-Over-Credit-Crunch/Article/200810415131944 (accessed 13/12/2008)

⁴http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/oct/08/credit.crunch.nhs (accessed 13/12/2008)

⁵http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/11/16/credit-crunch-hits-nhs-hospitals-115875-20900535/ (accessed 12/12/2008)

⁶http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=bjp_dailynews (accessed 13/12/2008)

⁷http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/96407.php (accessed 05/01/2009)

⁸http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aRmFF_gyPcnk (accessed 05/01/2009

⁹http://www.hospitalmanagement.net/news/news44933.html (accessed 13/12/08)