Choir sessions helping patients with mental and physical problems at Sheffield health centre

The healing power of music is helping patients at a Sheffield health centre.
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Birley Health Centre holds weekly choir sessions where up to 35 patients sing a range of songs from Vera Lynn classics to modern artists like George Ezra.

And after a slow start, the singalongs are now so successful they are being hailed as a way patients can be helped with a range of mental and physical health problems.

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Practice nurse and founder Dawn Varney said she got the idea after joining a choir, and realising her patients might benefit from something similar.

Singing group at Birley Medical Centre. Picture Scott MerryleesSinging group at Birley Medical Centre. Picture Scott Merrylees
Singing group at Birley Medical Centre. Picture Scott Merrylees

She said: “We’re not the best singers but I always say it is like karaoke without the booze.

“I have always loved singing and for me, it is my happy place. When you are doing it you can’t think about anything else.

“We have laughed, cried, sung and talked about issues so I suppose it is a wellbeing group really.

“But I am so glad it has taken off.”

Singing group at Birley Medical Centre. Picture Scott MerryleesSinging group at Birley Medical Centre. Picture Scott Merrylees
Singing group at Birley Medical Centre. Picture Scott Merrylees
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Dawn said a wide range of people attended the singing sessions from teenagers to OAPs, and almost as many men as women.

There they see people who have suffered from mental health problems like depression as well as physical issues such as brain injuries.

And she said that doctors at the surgery had been so impressed by the choir they had bought them a new projector and written about its success in medical journals.

“‘Social prescribing’ – treating people without medicine – is a really big thing now,” said Dawn.

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“We are quite a forward-thinking practice and try to think of other ways we can help people. I don’t see any reasons why other places shouldn’t do it.”

Another practice nurse, Maxine Rathbone, aged 58, said Dawn had got things ‘just right’.

“It is that feelgood factor – and knowing the patients means it is nice for me to see a different side of them,” she said.

“I see how many patients are given medication for mental health problems and this is actually a very cheap alternative.

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“There was a Steph McGovern show on BBC1 where they proved that singing was really good for treating pain.”

Maxine added a particular highlight of the choir so far had been a trip to Chatsworth Nursing Home at Christmas.

There they sang carols to the residents, many of whom joined in with the festive cheer.

One of the group’s longest-standing members, Clive Hawkins, aged 65, from Birley, had just come out of a ‘really bad bout’ of depression, OCD and anxiety when he joined the group.

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He said: “The fantastic care I received from these people got me out of that dark place and put me on the right track. It is the power of music and teamwork.”

So strong was the group’s bond, Clive said, that they had chosen Lean On Me by soul legend Bill Withers as their anthem.

Other group favourites include Abba’s Mamma Mia and Grace by Rod Stewart.

“Clive said Lean On Me was about our group and the fact we can talk about anything with each other,” said Dawn.

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“We start off with that song every week but after that we sing what people want.”

Younger members of the choir include Dawn’s daughter Angel, 12, and Leigh Stinchcombe, 29.

Angel, from Hackenthorpe, said she was proud her mum had started such a valuable group.

She said: “The people who come feel like they can trust her with their problems. It’s nice for them to have a group to be part of where they can relax and not worry about what’s going on in their lives. I prefer the newer songs we do but I like that we have a mix of different musical genres.”

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And Leigh – who has learning difficulties because of a brain injury he sustained as a younger man – said he ‘loved’ the choir and felt it was his ‘second home’.

The choir meets every Monday from 6-7pm.

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