The healing power of music in hospitals
17/04/2008
Did you know thatindependent research has shown that live music helps reduce pain, anxiety, stress and depression and promote rehabilitation - and thatover 100,000 hospital and hospice patients every year are treated to music?
Music in Hospitals, a charity established in 1948, arranges professional live concerts in healthcare settings throughout the UK, and reaches over 100,000 people of all ages affected by illness and disability each year. The extraordinary calming and uplifting live music benefits everyone across the healthcare spectrum - from day care hospital patients and people with severe long term health problems to those in hospices facing life-threatening illnesses.
Music In Hospitals' Chief Executive Diana Greenman says: Last year we provided 4,818 live, intimate concerts in healthcare settings across the UK - which was an all time record. Our musicians do not provide miracle cures but magical moments of warmth and joy, gently helping to bring the person out of the patient.
Independent research has shown that live music helps reduce pain, anxiety, stress and depression and promote rehabilitation. The demand for Music in Hospitals continues to grow and every day the charity receives reports from healthcare staff, patients and relatives explaining how the concerts have made a positive difference to their lives.
Said Diana: The benefits of live music on all ages is widely known, bringing young children closer to their parents and grandparents, and mental health workers have reported that after a music session their patients are far more insightful in therapy. With older people, strong memories can be rekindled, and physically the music acts as a natural physiotherapy - with better breathing if they are singing and physical movement if they are clapping or even dancing.
The reports from healthcare workers - especially in hospices - can bring tears to my eyes. They often tell us that the live music really penetrates a patient's inner depths in a way that no other activity can, relieving anxiety and bringing happiness at what is usually a very difficult and frightening time for them.
One lady in a hospice said that she had woken up in the morning thinking that she couldn't face another day, then after coming along to a concert later that day the music was so beautiful that she felt glad to be alive.
As Music In Hospitals celebrates its 60th anniversary, why not find out how to get involved - whether by booking a concert, by fundraising, or by applying to join them as a musician? Concerts at a hospice, hospital or care home cost just 106 because the true cost is subsidised by fundraising.
To find out more, contact Diana Greenman, Chief Executive on 01932 260810, or visit the website below.