A community interest company is winning nationwide support for a campaign which aims to spark a cultural change in dementia care through music.
Blandford-based Musica Music and Wellbeing CIC is urging care homes and caregivers to join its Just One Hour campaign.
Already 277 care homes have signed up including the Hallmark, Four Seasons, Brighterkind, and Meddyg Care groups.
Rosie Mead, Chief Executive and Founder of Musica, said the campaign was inspired by research which suggests that people living with dementia in care homes experience just two minutes of social interaction each day on average.
She added: “We are seeking to change this and increase that social interaction to at least one hour per week by enabling carers to embed music into the daily care of people living with dementia.”
Care homes and caregivers can sign up to the #JustOneHour pledge via the Musica website to help harmonise healthcare and improve the lives of people living with dementia.
Sign-ups will receive a digital pack with information on why music is beneficial in dementia care, how to use music in individual care, as well as all the tools required to deliver meaningful music in short ten-minute bursts.
The pack also includes prompts, which can be displayed around the home to encourage all caregivers to provide social interaction through music.
Musica’s #JustOneHour campaign is supported by British cartoonist, Tony Husband, best known for his regular cartoon strip Yobs in Private Eye. The strip has been published in the satirical magazine since the late 1980s.
Tony, an active dementia campaigner, said he had witnessed first-hand the joy music brought his father while he was living with dementia.
He said: “My dad was a brilliant boogie woogie player and he took his keyboard into the care home.
“One day I was in his room, and he was playing something I’d not heard before.
“I said ‘Dad, is that your tune?’
“Without stopping playing, he said ‘Yes, music gives me freedom’. And it did, I know that.”
Musica is considered one of the leading music and health organisations in the UK.
Founded by Rosie in 2010, it operates across the country.
It delivers online support, training, coaching and meaningful music activities for healthcare providers and family caregivers, supporting relationship-centred dementia care.
Rosie, who was named a Woman of Inspiration in the 2020 top 100 WISE (Women in Social Enterprise) list, said: “The benefits of music in dementia care are significant.
“The use of familiar music delivered in a responsive way can help to reduce agitation, anxiety and improve wellbeing, social interaction and quality of life.
“This isn’t magic, it’s science.
“We have realised the importance of being in the moment with people living with dementia and have fully embraced a responsive care model.
“This campaign will empower carers all across the UK to do the same.”
By: Andrew Diprose Dorset Biz News
