People with dementia should be given music and dance therapy, health secretary says

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says he wants to combat over-medicalisation 'when it’s not in the best interests of the patient’

People suffering from dementia should be given music or dance therapy, according to the Health Secretary.

Speaking following a reception hosted by the Prince of Wales at Clarence House, Matt Hancock MP said that despite local areas being advised to consider music or dance for those suffering from dementia, such therapies have not been widely implemented across England.

"Dementia can devastate the lives of people affected by it and although there is not yet a cure I believe we can do more to improve the lives of people with the condition," he said.

“In particular, I want to combat over-medicalisation and dishing out pills when it’s not in the best interests of the patient.

“There is increasing evidence suggesting music can bring calm to people with dementia by reducing agitation and supporting those affected to cope better with symptoms.

“This is the kind of personalised care that I fully endorse as a key part of our NHS long term plan.”

Dementia is a syndrome associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning. The condition affects around 850,000 people in the UK, with one in 14 aged over 65 estimated to develop the medical issue, according to the Alzheimer's Society.

Earlier this year, NHS England announced its plan to expand the use of music for dementia patients to expand “social prescribing” - a means of enabling GPs, nurses and other primary care professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services.

According to the plan, there will be over 1,000 trained social prescribing link workers by April 2021 and more in place by April 2024, with the aim to see 900,000 people being referred to social prescribing schemes a year.

The plans coincided with the launch of Music for Dementia 2020 – a national campaign to make music available for everyone living with the condition by 2020.

Led by the private family charitable trust the Utley Foundation, the campaign’s website provides information about a wide range of musical activities, ranging from creating playlists to music therapy, and has a searchable database of suitable music activities for dementia patients.

Last year, research published by the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC) and the Utley Foundation found that music has significant physical and mental health benefits for those with dementia and help to increase social interaction and decreasing stress hormones

“Analysis showed that music helps to significantly minimise some of the symptoms of dementia, such as agitation, and can help to tackle anxiety and depression,” says Sally Greengross, chief executive of the ILC.

In September 2018, the BBC announced its new website BBC Music Memories which aims to help connect dementia patients with songs from the past.

The website allows users to browse more than 1,800 songs, classical works and TV theme tunes from the last 100 years, and create creating a playlist of music.

You can find more information about dementia on the NHS website here.