Music and Memory Matinees: First Session at Hannage Brook Medical Centre

The Music and Memory Matinees idea evolved during a conversation with Emma Doleman, the Business Manager at Hannage Brook Medical Centre. She mentioned how people who care for people living with dementia often get so caught up in caring, they forget their own needs. Wouldn’t it be great, she suggested, to have a creative session for people living with dementia and their carers, in the surgery at Hannage Brook? That way, the carers would have a chance to check in with the services available onsite, make an appointment or two, and take a breather.

This struck me as a great idea, and typical of Emma’s creative approach. Emma does not consider herself to be creative at all, and we are always disagreeing about this, because: she is. Maybe not in an ‘oil paintings and symphonies’ type of way, more in a ‘imaginatively-implemented-spreadsheet, maintain the smooth running of a GP surgery’ type way. A very important form of creativity. Many of us in Wirksworth are well served by this kind of creativity at Hannage Brook.

I have a chat with my colleague Sophie at District Musicians CIC. I have worked alongside her for several years as a dementia-specialist Healthcare Musician. The idea is that we are like District Nurses, but bringing music rather than medical care. We work out some dates for some dementia music sessions, and name them ‘Music and Memory Matinees’. Morgan at Arts Derbyshire makes us a poster. Marion the Operations Manager at Hannage uses the surgery database to reach out to all dementia patients open to the surgery, and interested parties book themselves in. Usually, District Musicians have to organise everything from the ground up, this kind of collaboration is a luxury!

The first Music and Memory Matinee session rolls around. Sophie and I find ourselves at Hannage Brook, in the meeting room upstairs, with a group of eight people and our usual collection of guitars, drums and simple instruments. After we all introduce ourselves, Sophie and I sing a couple of familiar songs. People start to relax and sing along. As the afternoon goes by, we share out simple instruments, and we are soon all jamming along to some old favourites, pausing for biscuits and chats.

We are joined by Rachel Metcalfe, who is newly in post as Hannage Brook’s in-house Social Prescriber. As we chat with the group, Rachel starts to notice things she might be able to help the carers with. Someone mentions they are struggling to get transport to support groups that are further afield, and Rachel knows what to do to sort it. She offers help with ‘finance, benefits, fun, activities – anything you might need!’. It feels like an easy, gentle way to make connections between a Social Prescriber and a group of people who might otherwise get missed out.

We’re starting to gel more as a little musical group, people have realised that it’s easy enough to join in, and more fun if you do. We play some final tunes, and people get ready to go. It’s a little mission making sure everyone is safely downstairs, but as they leave the surgery it feels like something positive has been gently set in motion. Rachel will be back next week, and we’re working out which other members of staff might be able to join us for a while too over the coming weeks…