Eye on Healthcare:
How an African Church Choir Made a Difference to Care Home Life in Greater Manchester with
Kayonda Hubert Ngamaba | Research Fellow, Social Policy and Social Work Department, University of York Cheyann Heap | Research Associate, Community-Enhanced Social Prescribing, University of York
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Care homes are rarely a source of good news. The system is underfunded, understaffed and overextended, and homes are routinely found to be inadequate. Of the 2,934 homes the Care Quality Commission inspected in the year to December 2022, 1,224 were deemed inadequate or requiring improvement.
L
ow expectations and negative stereotypes, particularly in the media, exacerbate the problem. But when positive relationships are placed at the centre of adult social care, care homes have the potential to be joyful, lively places. Our research has looked at what happens when care homes facilitate community connections between their older residents and refugees.
We have found that singing, in particular, is a good tool for breaking down social barriers, reducing isolation and improving wellbeing. Group singing can benefit everyone. How Singing Improves Wellbeing
From 2016 to 2019, we worked with four care homes in Bolton, Greater Manchester, and a local choir which visited the homes once a month.
The residents were older adults, predominantly white British. Some had diagnoses of dementia or mental health problems. The choir was comprised of six to ten young people and adults from the Ephrata Church Community, a local black African church. They brought keyboards and guitars and set up shop in communal areas. The residents were free to come and go as they pleased. The choir leader would introduce the songs and distribute lyrics, encouraging both residents and staff to join in. Afterwards they were asked about their experience of the session and whether they had any song requests for subsequent visits. From the start, residents found the experience to be beneficial. One explained how little there was, usually, for them to do in the care home: “The staff are in rush, and we can’t have a proper conversation.” Research has long shown that this is not uncommon.
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