UK’s second Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia announced 

ByJDCteam

Following an application process for the UK’s second Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia (which we reported on here: https://journalofdementiacare.co.uk/applications-open-for-second-centre-of-excellence-for-music-and-dementia), Hertfordshire has been named as the successful applicant. 

Funded through The National Academy for Social Prescribing’s Power of Music Fund, which is supported by The Rayne Foundation, The Utley Foundation and others, the work in Hertfordshire will build on that which has begun through the first Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia, which was established in Manchester in 2024 led by Manchester Camerata https://journalofdementiacare.co.uk/centre-of-excellence-for-music. 

The second Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia will focus on developing and rolling out a training package to support health and social care staff to integrate music into dementia care.  The aims of the centre include: 

  • Creating Music Champions within 100 care homes across Hertfordshire. 
  • Training 6,000 staff to embed therapeutic music techniques, benefiting approximately 5,800 care home residents.  

The Centre will be led by Age UK Hertfordshire, in partnership with the Hertfordshire Care Providers Association (HCPA), Music24, Hertfordshire County Council and other organisations, and form part of the Hertfordshire Dementia Strategy Delivery programme led by the Hertfordshire Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism (MHLDA) Health and Care Partnership.  

Mark Hanna, CEO of Age UK Hertfordshire, says: 

“We are very excited about working with our partners to deliver this innovative programme of work. We bring a wealth of experience from across the partnership in supporting people living with dementia, their carers and the wider health and social care workforce. We aim to harness this experience and channel it into a transformative programme which will improve the lives of those impacted by dementia. Our vision over the next several months is to implement this work in Hertfordshire with a view to potentially expand beyond the borders as the programme progresses.” 

Find out more here: https://socialprescribingacademy.org.uk/resources/hertfordshire-named-centre-of-excellence-for-training-in-music-and-dementia/ 

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