In 2024 Live Music Now Cymru delivered Notes for New Year (NFNY) in Hywel Dda University Health Board (HDdUHB) for healthcare teams. This was part of a wider programme including delivery in care homes in North and South Wales in direct response to staff wellbeing and retention crises in healthcare systems in Wales.
Live Music Now trained musicians Billy Thompson and Lowri Evans were paired with 12 members of staff for one-on-one collaborative songwriting and self reflection workshops.
Live Music Now secured funding from 3 funders (below, 1 anonymous), provided project and evaluation frameworks, planning, management, recruitment, communications, songwriting and reflection resources and remote recording studio.
Whilst not part of HDdUHB arts programme, Arts and Health Coordinators offered valuable support: insight into staff recruitment mechanisms, advertisement and mitigating risk of schedule clashes. Our thanks to the team at Hywel Dda for this.
Staff joined in their spare time. Initially, 7 places were offered, but Notes for New Year proved popular with 15 colleagues registering. Delivery was extended to allow 12 songwriting projects.
Person-centred & Inclusive
Notes for New Year meets healthcare staff where they’re at, exploring their interests and working on their own terms. Delivered online in Welsh and English, the project fitted around the busy lives of the healthcare staff, enabling them to join across long distances and shift working. No previous music experience is required.
Live Music Now musicians Billy Thompson and Lowri Evans collaborated one-on-one with members of staff to provide:
- 2.5 hours of collaborative songwriting time which explored their ideas and aspirations for the future
- An unique and original song recorded to professional standards
- A reflective framework to explore music and songwriting for joy and to lift moods, to help build resilience and hope.
11 out of 12 staff completed all their sessions; a completion rate of 91.7% compared to Hywel Dda’s reported usual rate of around 50%. Of the 11 who completed the project, all 11 (100%) completed the baseline survey and 8 (73%) completed the endpoint survey. This showed:
- 44% increase in feeling useful often.
- 23% increase in feeling optimistic about the future often.
- 41% increase in feeling relaxed often.
- 32% increase in thinking clearly often.
- At the beginning of Notes for New Year, 54% reported feeling “not confident at all” and 0% feeling “confident”. At the end of the project this had changed to 0% feeling “not confident at all”, and 38% reported feeling “confident”.
100% of interviewees stated the project had a positive impact on their mental health and all reported the project benefitted their working life.
We are seeking funding for further projects.
