Dennis Skinner visits care homes to sing to patients with dementia

The MP for Bolsover sang to his late mother when she was diagnosed with the disease and was inspired by her ability to recall old songs. For the past eight years, he has also been singing to elderly patients with dementia in Derbyshire care homes

(AFP)

Dennis Skinner is known for his firebrand politics, steadfast beliefs, annual heckles, being chucked out of Parliament and antagonising the Tories, especially David Cameron.

But what few people know about the Beast of Bolsover is the work he does outside of politics to help the community. Mr Skinner has revealed he visits care facilities to sing to patients with dementia in a bid to help them retain some of their rapidly fading memories.

Mr Skinner’s late mother Lucy was diagnosed with dementia in the 1980s. He told BBC presenter Jeremy Vine she would often sing while doing household tasks, so when her memory began to falter, he started singing to her. The veteran Labour MP says that after a few seconds of serenading her with Gracie Fields and Vera Lynn, she would show a glimmer of recognition and join in. When his sister was then diagnosed with dementia, he had the same experience with her.

Mr Skinner, 84, says he sang in the school choir and would sing in clubs and pubs while working as a coal miner, developing a passion for music.

He now visits the Shirevale Resource Centre facility in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, and sings classic songs to elderly people with dementia, often leading group renditions of his mother’s favourite, “Getting to know you”.

“It does go back about 50 or 60 years which is important for classes like this to help with your memory and the rhythm of singing,” he said. “I discovered this when my mother had dementia, and the result was I became enamoured by this place here.”

Mr Skinner said he has been visiting Shirebrook and other homes off and on for eight years, “when Parliament is not in session or when I’ve been kicked out”. Shirevale holds regular classes for people suffering from the disease which he joins in with.

“If there is something, a little bit, that we can do to enhance their lives... I know that they had a happier time as a result of all of the singing and the use of brain co-ordination with their feet and hands and all the rest of it. I know that those two and a half hours helped those people, those 20 odd people in that room."

Mr Skinner said he often wonders whether he could have ended up in a very different career from politics had he been born into other circumstances. “I never had any [singing] training. I often think now I’m a lot older, what would have happened if I was born in the middle of the city, where there was a drama class. Would it have been different?”

Despite being one of Westminister's sharpest and most active MPs, he fears that he too could develop dementia and now has a daily routine in place to ensure his mind stays active.

Dr Ian Le Guillou, a research officer at Alzheimer’s Society, said the organisation is funding a centre for PhD students to study how arts and music can benefit people with dementia.

Dr Le Guilou told the Independent: “Singing is not only an enjoyable activity, but an excellent way to bring people with dementia and their carers together to express themselves and socialise with others. At Alzheimer’s Society, we often hear of people at our Singing for the Brain support groups, not only having fun, but positively relating to music - even when many other memories are hard to recall."

Susan Drayton, a clinical lead for Admiral Nursing Direct at Dementia UK, agreed that singing is an inclusive activity for dementia patients that can prove calming and enjoyable. Ms Drayton told the Independent it can also have an effect on recall. “Music can stimulate the brain and help reconnect someone with a past memory or experience, which can aid communication and improve relationships.”

Mr Skinner's story, Dennis Skinner vs Dementia, can be heard on BBC iPlayer Radio.