Designed to support people receiving care at Dorset County Hospital’s Stroke Unit, Children’s Ward, and Elderly Care Ward, the weekly music-making series has reported positive results since its launch. The programme was devised between the BSO’s musicians, healthcare practitioners, and colleagues from Arts in Hospital – with a range of activities to foster healing and connection.

Therapists from the Stroke Unit have reported improved recovery through music-making, citing physical activities that mimic everyday life — for example, the shaking of maracas — as very helpful. In recent weeks, patients have joined in with the music-making, with music from Jingle Bells to We Wish You A Merry Christmas, keeping time and singing along too.

Staff working on the Children’s Ward have reported seeing the impact of music in calming younger patients, helping them to build a connection with the outside world. Last week, BSO musicians arrived to share music from The Snowman, as well as excerpts from the ever-popular Harry Potter series.

Patients on the Dementia Ward have taken part in group music making and singing and enjoyed bedside recitals in wards, helping to ignite memories and conversations, connecting patients, their families, and staff. In recent weeks, they’ve shared songs that invoke memories of Christmas past…

The programme is due to extend further across other Dorset HealthCare sites in 2025, to reach people in stroke rehabilitation at Sherborne’s Yeatman Hospital and patients living with advanced dementia at Alderney Hospital in Poole.

Lucy Warren, Head of BSO Participate, said “We exist to bring music into people’s lives and we’re thrilled to be continuing this programme of creative activity embedded in healthcare to improve health outcomes and quality of life for patients, families and staff.”

Suzy Rushbrook, Arts in Hospital Manager, said “It’s been very well received […] there’s been evidence to suggest that patients are calmer, happier, it’s easier to communicate with some of them and it’s just an all-round well-being exercise, not just for the patients, but also for the staff”

Vikki Tweedy, Dementia Nurse said “Patients living with dementia really benefit from music as a whole, it completely unlocks memories that they’ve had before, and […] long stay patients here can absolutely benefit from it because we’ve seen people just come out of themselves listening to the music”

 To read the full press release about the project click here