A well-known journalist and broadcaster visited Aberdeen yesterday to participate in a conference on dementia treatment across NHS Grampian.
Sally Magnusson spoke at the Aberdeen exhibition and conference centre about her foundation, Playlist for Life, and demonstrated how the joy of music can assist people battling the illness.
Mrs Magnusson set up the initiative in 2013 after witnessing the effect music had on her late mother, Mamie.
She said: “When my mother was suffering with dementia, we found the one thing that was able to engage her and be more like herself was music.
“The music was like a trigger and her response was almost miraculous, like a light switching on.
“After she died, I just thought music was so powerful for her, so I began researching what it was doing and if there was something that could be done to help people with dementia through music and that’s how Playlist for Life started.”
Now in its second year, the conference, set up by NHS Grampian, in partnership with Alzheimer Scotland and the three local health and social care partnerships attracted over 200 people.
Aberdeenshire GP, Dr Peter Kiehlmann, said: “I am delighted at the wide spectrum of people who attended the conference and being able to provide information to people about how to cope better with this disease is fantastic.”
Henry Simmons, chief executive of Alzheimer Scotland, added: “There is a lot of excellent work being done in this area.
“And the conference is an important part of ensuring we continue to improve the lives and opportunities of people living with dementia and their families and make sure nobody faces dementia alone.”
Mrs Magnusson concluded: “Even if you are in the midst of dementia and think there is nothing that can be done and you are in the depths of despair, there is something you can do.
“NHS Grampian are doing wonderful things, people across the board are using Playing for Life and are thinking about dementia in a different way.
“There is no doubt it is a horrible condition, and the drugs don’t exist to make it better, but we have music and we need to know about it and get it out there.”
To find out more about Playlist for Life visit: playlistforlife.org.uk
