How music is spreading joy to residents living with dementia at Haviland House and Linfield House in Worthing

For our residents at Linfield House and Haviland House, we offer a range of activities that are delivered with compassion, skill and expertise. Haviland House, our purpose-built dementia care home, caters to people with different stages of dementia, whilst Linfield House combines residential living with 24-hour expert nursing care and dementia care. Within both homes, music has emerged as a key way of bringing joy to our residents during activity sessions.

For more information about Guild Care or our three care homes please contact our friendly customer relationship team on 01903 327327 or [email protected]

The positive effects of music

Studies have shown that music can be a powerful tool for improving memory, cognition and the overall quality of life for people living with dementia. The regular activities and sensory sessions that we run each week at our homes often feature music from our residents’ favourite artistes to stimulate memories and reminiscence.

As Kerri Sparrowe, our care needs co-ordinator and dementia lead, explains: “Music is a great way for our residents to engage with the past by evoking memories, feelings and emotions that they might otherwise find hard to access. It’s heartwarming to see residents connect over their favourite songs, and it also gives them a great opportunity to socialise with each other.”

Music therapy at Haviland House and Linfield House

For our residents whose dementia symptoms are more advanced, we offer sensory music therapy with a specialist therapist from one of the UK’s leading music charities, Rhythmix. These sessions embody our approach to holistic care, helping to soothe and comfort our residents if they become stressed or agitated.

Ensuring our residents are fulfilled, engaged and well cared for is at the heart of what we do here at Guild Care. By offering music therapy at our homes, we give everyone an opportunity to express their feelings in a way that might not be possible without music – it’s really special to see.

Bringing opera to Haviland House

Live performance also has a hugely positive impact, and we recently welcomed a professional opera singer to perform at Haviland House. It was a special evening for our residents and their families, who are always welcome to join in with our activities.

John, a resident at Haviland House, told us: “People here love getting together to have a good time. I’ve seen other residents’ moods change from sad to happy just from going to a musical activity. I especially enjoyed the Elvis Tribute, drumming class, and classical music performances. Activities like these really bring people together.”

Guild Care offers residential care, 24/7 nursing as standard, expert dementia support and palliative care across our three individually designed homes. As a charity that has supported the Worthing community for over 90 years, we deliver high quality, person-centred care – helping our residents to live well, enjoy life and love every day.