Music project helps mental health service users with rehabilitation

Lee McGrath (Prospect Place) singing 'Sit Down by James'

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A music project that helps service users with mental health difficulties with their rehabilitation has been shortlisted for an award by NHS England.

The musical madness scheme sees service users from Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust’s Rehabilitation and High Support Directorate given access to music and a mentor as part of the Occupational Therapy team’s Social Inclusion Programme.

The scheme, which is now in its fifth year, was devised after consultation with service users who wanted to use music to aid their recovery.

Last year’s project, based around musical theatre, was recently shortlisted for an NHS England, Excellence in Participation award and was highly commended for its community partnership working and innovation.

Each year the service users participate in a showcase and, this year, participants also worked to write, perform and record an original song.

A documentary has also been produced showcasing the service users’ journey towards the final performance.

The final performance this year took place in the nightclub at the Flying Horse Hotel in Rochdale on Tuesday 1 April.

They performed with the support of a PA system, mics and a five piece house band one of whom was a service user from Prospect Place in Rochdale.

The ‘gig’ was interspersed with short clips from the documentary film.

Gemma Kirk, Senior Occupational Therapist for Pennine Care said the service users had performed a mixture of covers and original songs that had meaning to them.

She said: “Family and friends were invited to the final performance sitting alongside the Mayor of Rochdale, senior managers, commissioners and consultants.

“The music project has strived to improve the lives of our service users by giving them something meaningful, socially inclusive, inspirational and exciting to look forward to each week.

“It helped to expand their social networks, roles and sense of achievement. They have had the opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings through poetry and song and improve artistically developing creative and song writing skills.

“Service users gained performance, recording and rehearsing experience and thoroughly enjoyed the project.

“There are also lots of things that happened behind the scenes which just couldn’t’ be captured in the final performance. This includes witnessing many service users overcoming a lack of self-belief and fear of trying new things during the project. Furthermore the friendships that developed between service users during the project was an unexpected outcome.”