The Rockinghorse Wellbeing service organised a wonderful live music session at The Alex last week to celebrate Refugee Week.
Our Wellbeing Service, funded by the Cullum Family Trust, aimed at providing a range of mental health and wellbeing support for children and families visiting, or staying at the hospital, collaborated with Best Foot Music for this first session.
Best Foot Music is a Brighton based non-profit organisation who collaborate with musicians from refugee backgrounds who have settled in Sussex. They have an amazing range of diverse musicians who bring a part of their culture to every performance.
The event took place on Level 5 at the hospital, in the main Outpatients area, and we had two wonderful performances from Sudanese oud player Bashir Al Gamar, followed by Alaa and Polina, a fusion band from Ukraine and Syria.
Due to the architecture of the space at The Alex, and with the music being played in the atrium area, the beautiful sound travelled throughout the hospital so children, families and NHS staff could enjoy the music.
Inpatient and outpatients came along to listen, and staff were able to enjoy a moment of self-care during their breaks.
During the performance, we also put our colouring packs for the children and let families know more about the Wellbeing Service and our plans for future events and activities.
The music went down really well with everyone, with one young patient saying, “I’ve been in the hospital for five days and I’ve been looking forward to this. I am finding the music relaxing and I like colouring at the same time.”
And another saying, “I have been focused on nothing but the music the whole time – it is a great distraction but also soothing for me.”
The musicians also had first-hand experience of the hospital, having brought their own children there, and felt a strong affiliation to supporting children, young people and families.
Due to their work, they have a real awareness of the power of music to support people managing their physical and mental health. Alaa said, “I know from my own experience that music has been soothing to me, almost healing. It was what helped me most, and to bring that here feels so great.”
Having music in the hospital can also be a really important tool to support healthcare, with one NHS staff member saying, “There is lots of research out there about how even having music is waiting rooms and hospital spaces is calming and has a positive impact on people.”
Rockinghorse Wellbeing Manager Jess Linton was really please with how the event went. She said, “As the first event of its kind, we weren’t exactly sure how this would work but it’s been wonderful.
“Introducing music from different cultures, especially during Refugee Week, is fantastic and it was great to be able to see first-hand the impact that the music had on everyone within the hospital.
“Seeing how well this worked, we can’t wait to organise the next performance!”
As the event went down so well with everyone, we’re really looking forward to organising more regular music sessions in the hospital so watch this space.
