DementiaNews

The Power Of One Hour – A New Campaign To Embed Music Into Dementia Care

Musica Music and Wellbeing CIC, a community interest company specialising in dementia care, has launched the Just One Hour campaign which aims to spark a cultural change in dementia care through music. The team at Musica are asking care homes and caregivers in the UK to sign up to the Just One Hour campaign and join the 277 care homes that have already signed up including the Hallmark, Four Seasons, Brighterkind, and Meddyg Care groups.

Chief Executive and Founder of Musica, Rosie Mead, is a PhD candidate researching music in dementia care: “Just One Hour is inspired by research* which suggests that people living with dementia in care homes experience just two minutes of social interaction each day on average. 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 10-minute bursts. The pack will also include 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 in Private Eye, Yobs, that has been published since the late 1980s. Tony is an active dementia campaigner and openly speaks of his own experience of the joy that music brought this father whilst living with dementia: “I know the importance of, and the pleasure, music brings to those living with dementia. 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. Based in Dorset, the organisation operates across the UK delivering online support, training, coaching and meaningful music activities for healthcare providers and family caregivers to support relationship-centred dementia care. “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, and this campaign will empower carers all across the UK to do the same,” Rosie comments.

The Just One Hour Campaign is supported by Hallmark Care Homes, an award-winning, family run care provider with 20 care homes across England and South Wales. Head of Relationship Centred Care April Dobson said: “At Hallmark Care Homes we’ve seen from our own experiences how music has the power to create connections and build relationships – particularly for people living with dementia. Our teams recognise the value of using music as part of everyday care, not just as one-off sessions or events, and the learning we’re taking part in with Musica is helping to embed that practice in all Hallmark Care Homes. Our aim is that every person’s care plan should include a way to use music therapeutically in a way that is meaningful for that person.

Our partnership with Musica will help us achieve this aim and ensure that our focus remains always on every single individual. Music enriches people’s lives in so many ways by bringing joy, fun, and opportunities for a shared experience, which is why we’re so proud to support the ‘Just One Hour’ campaign. On an organisational level, the partnership supports the many of the outcomes within our dementia strategy, and our vision of relationship centred care.”

The #JustOneHour campaign is also supported by Xledger UK, a cloud-based finance software company based in Bristol. Mark Pullen, the CEO, said: “As a company, we endeavour to support initiatives that enhance people’s lives. We all appreciate the joy music brings, so what better way to improve the wellbeing of those most in need. We are proud to support the campaign and as we operate within the care homes space, we hope to spread the message as far as we can so as many people as possible can benefit.”

Just One Hour is a revolutionary campaign, starting a movement of people making the world a better place for those living with dementia, by improving their overall quality of life, by taking one small step, one person at a time, Just one hour.