We came across a great article this week from the co-founder of John’s Campaign on a new parliamentary report that confirms the profoundly beneficial role of the arts in helping people with dementia.
After two years of evidence gathering, roundtables and discussions with service users, health and social care professionals, artists and arts organisations, academics, policy-makers and parliamentarians, the reports unambiguous findings are that the arts can help keep us well, aid our recovery and support longer lives better lived; they can help meet major challenges facing health and social care – ageing, long-term conditions, loneliness and mental health; and they can help save money in the health service and in social care.
Dementia is an area where the arts can radically enhance quality of life by finding a common language and by focusing on everyday, in-the-moment creativity. As Lord Howarth of Newport, co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group, said: “The arts have a vital role to play for people with dementia. Research demonstrates that visual arts, music, dance, digital creativity and other cultural activities can help to delay the onset of dementia and diminish its severity. This not only makes a huge difference to many individuals but also leads to cost savings. If the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (which accounts for 62% of dementias) could be delayed by five years, savings between 2020 and 2035 are estimated at £100bn. Those are powerful statistics, but this isn’t just about money; the arts can play a powerful role in improving the quality of life for people with dementia and for their carers.”
What is exceptionally positive for the UK is that there are optimistic, imaginative endeavours going on all over the country, in theatres, galleries, cinemas, community centres, pubs, bookshops, peoples’ houses. It’s happening at a macro- and a micro-level.
To be trapped inside a brain that is failing, inside a body that is disintegrating, and to have no way of escaping. If evidence is needed, this report robustly demonstrates that the arts can come to our rescue when traditional language has failed: to sing, to dance, to put paint on paper, making a mark that says I am still here, to be touched again (rather than simply handled), to hear music or poems that you used to hear when you were a child, to be part of the great flow of life.
Article taken in part from www.theguardian.com and written by Nicci Gerrard, novelist, author and co-founder of John’s Campaign johnscampaign.org.uk
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