“Singing Medicine helped to lift his spirits and awaken new energyin him.” Chaplain, Birmingham Children’s Hospital
Singing Medicine is Ex Cathedra’s award-winning project for long-stay children in hospital.
Each week our team brings the wonderful andwide-ranging benefits of singing to children in Birmingham Children’s Hospital.Our activities are designed to bring them coping mechanisms and distraction techniques, to bring the feel-good factor of singing with others, to enable ways of communicating, to play through singing. Singing releases the human bonding hormone oxytocin, the deeper breathing is beneficial, the brain is stimulated, the body is active. We bring a sparkle to children’s eyes and a smile to their faces.
We have celebrated 10 years of making a difference. Please help us to continue to bring singing to these children.
“Singing makes a brilliant instant contact to the emotions. Endorphins are released because of the feel good factor and this in turn helps with pain and discomfort. It helps children relax and therefore breath better, and supports their language and understanding. Singing and music is a brilliant way to help children to cope with the everyday difficulties of being in hospital and take them to a place which is comforting and positive. Singing Medicine brings a truly uplifting experience to a patient’s overall wellbeing whilst in hospital. It is an amazing therapy, which brings a smile to their faces and gives them something positive to look forward to when they are going through intensive treatment. Excellent therapeutic service, not only for the patient but for the family too.” Sarah Pugh - Senior Specialist Nurse
“Lives can be enhanced by the provision of Singing Medicine. Music is a great way to build rapport, trust and relationships which enables the delivery of medicine in more palatable ways. My observation is that the singing interactions and music help improve the quality of the patient experience in PICU. Patients relax and improve their heart rate and comfort levels, but importantly they also show that they are having fun. The music enables some of the normal rhythm and developmental stimulation to be provided despite the high levels of intensive care intervention being required. The patients and the families both experience benefit with bonding taking place during these sessions. The music can also act as a distraction – taking the child’s attention away from the artificial technological support environment,and returning them to a mental state usually associated with home/family and pleasurable times. ” Dr Richard Neal - Consultant Paediatric Intensivist Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)
