Heartbeat: Harpists calm sounds help to relax patients

August 13, 2018

If you take a wonder down to outpatients at Sandwell Hospital, you may hear the calming sounds of the harp filtering through the air.

Not what you’d quite expect within a busy hospital department. Yet harp teacher Mary Withers, and her students, volunteer Chaplain Denise Morgan, Barbara Davis, 88, and Yvonne Samuels, 72, all entertain visitors, patients and colleagues moving through the area.

So popular are their performances, that Mary, a harp teacher, now accompanies singer Jackie Roxborough, from the organisation Kissing it Better, to play to inpatients. They are working on performing in many of the wards across the hospital.

Jackie said: “We’ve had some amazing responses from patients, and they are very interested in the harp, asking us lots of questions.

“We find that quite a few patients are fascinated by the harp and when we have our sessions, many of them have a go at strumming the strings. They absolutely love it.

“It seems to calm and relax the patients – and many of the staff are also fascinated by it too. We are aiming to get around all the wards over the summer, so more patients can enjoy the experience.”

Jackie added: “We perform a number of different songs, from sing-along tunes, to calming, more soothing music.”

Kissing it Better provides various experiences for our patients across all our sites, including beauty therapy, hairdressing and craft sessions.

Jackie and Mary have visited Lyndon and Newton 3, OPAU, the fracture clinic, and Priory 5 so far.

Back in outpatients, Barbara, Yvonne and Denise continue to entertain those visitors passing through.

Amazingly Barbara only decided to learn the instrument two years ago, whilst Yvonne has been playing for three years.

“They are both very keen and enjoy playing the harp,” added Mary. “The visitors to the outpatients department really enjoy the sessions and comment on how calming it is.”