UK’s first Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia launches
Music for Dementia was thrilled to attend the launch of the new Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia this week, hosted by Manchester Camerata.
The launch kickstarts the work of the Centre of Excellence, adopting a pioneering approach to Music and Dementia practice and research. The Centre will act as a lifeline for carers and people living with Dementia and gather key data on the cost savings music can create for the NHS build the business case for action and secure long-term investment in music and dementia nationwide.
Our involvement
Music for Dementia/The Utley Foundation has worked with the National Academy for Social Prescribing over the past year to help build the Power of Music Fund which has enabled the Centre of Excellence to launch, and we’re delighted to see this hard work come to life. With bids from across the country, to see Manchester Camerata chosen as the Centre is a testament to their work and vision.
Utley Foundation MD Sarah Metcalfe, who attended the launch said “I am hugely excited to see the launch of the Centre of Excellence and celebrate with our partners. Together, we’ve helped build the Power of Music Fund from scratch, and being here today you can already see the impact it will have. This is a unique project. The breadth of data it will create to will demonstrate the power of music as a key tool in Dementia care that can ease the pressure on the NHS, whilst still touching the lives of individuals in creating that moment of harmony for its users.”
The Utley Foundation gave £1million to kickstart the Power of Music Fund as part of the Music for Dementia programme and seeing how NASP has grown the fund with the support of so many partners including Andy Burnham, Sir Richard Lees (Chair of the NHS Greater Manchester), The University of Manchester and the Alzheimer’s Society demonstrates the true power of collaboration.
This funding will enable Manchester Camerata and Alzheimer’s Society to continue their ground-breaking research-based music therapy programmes – Music in Mind (Camerata) and Singing for the Brain (Alzheimer’s Society) to offer more musical support to people living with dementia across all of Greater Manchester.
Why now?
This announcement comes at a critical moment. According to the NHS, over 940,000 people in the UK have dementia. Alzheimer’s Society suggests that by 2025 there will be over 1 million people in the UK with dementia, projected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040.
The cost of inaction
Currently, the cost of care for people living with dementia in the UK is over £34bn per year. The long-term goal of the Centre of Excellence is to use the knowledge and research built up over the next three years to analyse how the implemenation of music in dementia care can reduce the need for costly health and care services, whilst also improving quality of life.
What will it look like in practice?
The Centre will run four weekly music cafes (two ‘Music in Mind’ and two ‘Singing for the Brain’) in each of the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs. Together with the University of Manchester and the NHS they will be conducting anonymised and data-driven research into the power and impact that music sessions can have. Manchester Camerata and Alzheimer’s Sociwety will also will recruit, nurture and train a volunteer and community workforce of 300 ‘Music Champions’ who will be trained to deliver the Music Cafes.
Music for Dementia is hugely excited by this project, and can’t wait to see how it progresses!