Bringing live music to people in care homes
Grant amount: £12,840 over 3 years
Award year: 2016-2018
Awarded to: Music in Hospitals and Care
Music in Hospitals & Care spreads joy through live music across the length and breadth of the UK. From lullabies for premature babies to old favourites for those living with dementia, they operate in a wide range of healthcare environments including hospitals, hospices, care homes, day centres, special schools and community settings.
The organisation used a three year grant from the Ashley Family Foundation to bring live music to people in residential care homes in Powys – people who, because of their relative isolation and the rural nature of where they live, don’t get as much access to high-grade musical entertainment as those in the more populated parts of Wales.
One example was a visit to Wylesfield Care Home in 2017, which clearly made a positive impact on the residents and care staff. Residents at Wylesfield Care Home are typically elderly, requiring permanent residential care, but they also include many residents with dementia, and those who have suffered from Stroke.
The home was visited by musicians Huw Chidgey and Mel Crew. Huw & Mel are an experienced bilingual duo who play a wide range of instruments including guitar, mandolin and the harmonica, and generally perform upbeat folk and contemporary sing-alongs, designed to encourage audiences to reminisce.
Sixteen residents chose to attend the concert. Feedback from the visit was very positive, with the home manager sharing that “14 of our residents had clearly experienced an improvement in their mood and spirits, and more than half experienced an increase in their ability to reminisce. Our residents enjoy listening to a wide variety of styles. They love to hear songs that they recognise, but also appreciate the talent and enterprise of accomplished performers.”
The manager also shared that this concert had an important impact on the care staff who attended the concert and witnessed how the residents engaged and responded to the music. It was noted that following the performance, all staff who attended felt they had “a better understanding of the people in our care” and also had experienced “an improved relationship with people in our care”.