Live Music Now – Improving health and wellbeing for the whole care home
Live Music Now is a charity working and campaigning nationwide to create inclusive, measurable social impact through music. Their work enhances quality of life, health and wellbeing and promotes equity of opportunity by recognising the creative potential of every individual. Programmes take place in community, healthcare, school and social care settings.
Live Music in Care provides live music sessions in residential care settings delivered by trained professional musicians to support the wellbeing of residents and staff teams. These may be one-off participatory concerts, which bring enjoyment, excitement and the benefits of music into care homes. The Live Music In Care residency programme works with care homes over several weeks to embed musical activity into care homes, building confidence and skills in staff to be able to lead music activities and to use music in their day-to-day care tool kit. In this way the programme has long-term sustainable benefits for the whole care home – residents, staff and management.
“It doesn’t take away from the importance of music as an enjoyable creative, entertaining activity but it adds to that. So it becomes something that supports transitions, including settling in; it’s a tool to be used around moments of anxiety and distress; something that can support voice, choice and agency; and it can support individual care transactions.” – Douglas Noble, Strategic Director Adult Social Care and Health, Live Music Now.
Evaluation of the 2022-2023 participatory concert programme (from 75 returns from 71 settings) has shown clear improvements in mood and engagement for residents;
100 % of settings reported a positive mood response to the activity from the participants;
87% reported the highest mood scores in the participants during the sessions, and 93% after the session, up from a score of 7% before the activity;
98% reported that the residents engaged with the performance and the musicians, with a shift from 79% before to 85 % during to 94% afterwards
Care home staff have also reported that the activities can change the environment within the care home, and have observed positive changes in behaviours, reductions in levels of anxiety and distress and improved confidence, even leading to reduction in the use of medication (See here for more details). One care home reported a 50% decrease in the use of sedatives and a 100% decrease in PRN medication (medicine administered on demand). Staff working in care homes can use music support residents who are feeling anxious or worried.
‘In the evening, they get very agitated and worried. In their reality many feel they should be going home, making partners' meals, looking after their houses and families. They think they are being held against their will preventing them from doing this…… I can bring the music back into the conversation and it brings back the feeling of peace calm and joy, and gives something in my tool bag and breaks that cycle (perhaps stopping me being hit)’ - Activities Coordinator in Care Home
Developing the health and care workforce is integral to the Live Music in Care model. Training, co-planning and reflection time is built into the model of delivery led by the musicians, and standalone training opportunities are also available for professional development. Evaluation of the programme also monitors how staff build confidence and skills to deliver music activities, and how frequently these activities are carried out subsequent to the programme.
Emerging from the findings of the Musical Care Taskforce, a national campaign to embed music as an essential element of dementia care, Live Music Now is developing a framework and Badge of Excellence supporting music at the heart of person-centred care, recognising the opportunities and benefits this can bring to the core functions of the adult social care sector.
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