Dec 2021
Care homes Sing for Joy at an online Christmas carol concert
OSJCT care homes, offices and extra care housing schemes joined a collective ‘Sing for Joy’ event this week, to celebrate the festive season. The event followed a very successful ‘Sing for Hope’ event which the Trust ran in May. Both events focussed on music therapy for residents living with dementia.
As it is not possible to hold large group events this year, the online concert provided a forum for homes to sing together and share pre-recorded performances during the two-hour online concert. The event also featured residents and employees from the Trust’s Christmas carol competition winner, Monkscroft Care Centre, who wrote and performed unique lyrics to the traditional carol tune ‘The Holly and the Ivy’.
The event was hosted by OSJCT Admiral Nurse Nikki Rowe, in collaboration with music therapy organisations: Mindsong, a Gloucestershire charity that specialises in reaching people with advanced dementia, and Let’s Sing in Oxfordshire.
According to Let’s Sing, music and singing helps to minimise some of the symptoms of dementia such as agitation and confusion and can help to alleviate some anxiety and depression. Music is known to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia by helping to increase social interaction and reducing stress.