Dementia Charity's Pilot Set To Reach Across Scotland

                                                                                                                                                 Wednesday October 8, 2014

A CHARITY set up by journalist and broadcaster Sally Magnusson, aiming to improve the lives of people with dementia through music, is now working with eight of Scotland’s 14 NHS Trusts to extend its work.

The BBC's Songs of Praise presenter is the founder of the charity Playlist for Life, which uses meaningful music as part of the care for those living with dementia, either at home or in a residential care home.

Sally set up the charity in the wake of the death of her mother, the journalist and writer Mamie Magnusson (author of Out of Silence, the book marking the cententary of the Church of Scotland Guild) from vascular dementia. A pilot project was launched in Dunfermline in April, offering music which touches the memory of dementia sufferers, digitally downloaded on to donated and disused iPods.

Playlist trustee and trainer Andy Lowndes told Dunfermline Rotarians – who have spearheaded the drive for iPod donations to the town’s pilot - that through the ongoing training of relatives, care home staff and staff in the voluntary sector and NHS on how to construct playlists of music that some 36 families were set to benefit. The pilot has been funded by the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust.

The charity is now embarking on dementia awareness training with ‘young ambassadors’ from Dunfermline Abbey’s youth group (pictured).

He said Playlist was now working with eight of Scotland’s 14 NHS Trusts to pilot the concept in acute care settings with patients with various forms of cognitive impairment and they had also secured buy-in from private care home companies and voluntary-sector agencies.

At the invitation of the Scottish Government, a PhD student at Queen Margaret Hospital was poised to begin work to evidence the effectiveness of the Playlist intervention. The charity was also preparing to provide professionals with online access to training and to develop a DVD for distribution through GP surgeries.

Mr Lowndes explained: “Emotional connection to the music enables autobiographical memories to be reached. We say to care providers, the families of loved ones and people living with dementia, if you can give someone access to their personal music – music which has been significant and important to them during their lives – then marvellous things happen. Everyone with whom we have tried it out is persuaded.”

While pointing out that every four seconds someone in the world was diagnosed with dementia, he added: “We don’t want to make a business out of Playlist for Life. We think this is a simple intervention. If we can get the message out to them and get buy-in from the community, then great things can happen.”

Playlist for Life is teaming up with the Pars Foundation to present a 40s-style tea on Saturday November 8 from 2pm -5pm, in Dunfermline’s Glen Pavilion. Tickets are available from Munroe’s Hairdressing and Beauty, DAFC club shop and Thomson Cooper Accountants.

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