soundWELL

 

soundWELL provided music activities in Children’s Wards and Clinics, tailored to meet the needs of the selected wards within hospitals and accessible for all abilities and ages (from 0-16 years).

soundLINCS’ experienced Music Facilitators have taken a hands-on approach, encouraging young patients to participate in a fun, relaxing and therapeutic music experience. soundWELL commenced in Autumn 2013, and to date we have worked with over a thousand patients, parents and siblings across three hospitals in Lincolnshire!

The first 12 week phase of the project in 2016 took place at Lincoln County Hospital and saw soundLINCS Music Facilitators working both bedside and in the playroom with patients, exploring a wide range of instruments from mandolins and ukuleles to DJ’ing and techno apps.

The project also involved an incredible inspiration week, which saw the playroom on Rainforest ward transformed into a sensory installation of video, sound and light. This created a relaxing environment, providing patients with a welcome distraction from the ward. Part of this installation was the brilliant video above sharing the music-making of the patients and healthcare professionals. The four minute piece also highlights some of the project’s key outcomes, as well as featuring a music track containing samples from several of the patients involved in the session.

The inspiration week for the second phase ran from 13^th to 17^th June in the Rainforest Children’s Ward fusing Musical Theatre & Storytelling, featuring an exciting installation for Healthcare professionals, Patients & their families in the Play Room. soundLINCS have been delivering Music Sessions with Patients, working closely with Play Specialists & staff to develop musical creativity skills.

As part of the project previously, soundLINCS Music Facilitators worked with patients to create their own musical tracks that they recorded and saved on the iPads. This created a CD of original music that can be played in the waiting room while people wait for out-patient appointments. You can listen to an example of some of these tracks here:

  

One of our interns, Sam, visited soundWELL and wrote a blog about his experience at the project. To read it, click here.

We don’t stop spreading the message of music’s health and wellbeing benefits when we’re not at the hospital though, as we have taken the opportunity to represent ourselves on over a dozen maps at the hospital, reaching 3/4 million people annually.

soundWELL was part of our National Foundation for Youth Music soundLINCS FundC programme, three years of work with children in challenging circumstances across five distinct sectors in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicester/shire.  The soundWELL programme had additional funding and support from the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust and Lincolnshire Music and Arts Education Hub, as well as our academic partners from University of Lincoln.