Interview with Dr Nicola Abraham and Victoria Ruddock
We sit down with Central’s Dr Nicola Abraham and Dementia specialist healthcare worker Victoria Ruddock to discuss their work with the Dementia Care Team and their patients at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. We also find out about their special music video for original song ‘Have a Little Faith’, which was co-written by Nicola and her dad, Dave Abraham, and performed by Victoria for one of her patients. The video has now been released by the NHS and Imperial Health Charity and is being shared as part of a special fundraiser in support of the NHS.
Nicky and Victoria, how did the two of you first meet?
Victoria: I first met Nicky when she was doing the Intergenerational Project with the Dementia Team and, as it happens, we discovered that I facilitate her students who work with us doing collaborative outreach for 6 weeks in the Hospital (Charing Cross Hospital, 8 North Ward). They were creating something exciting for the patients during their stay in hospital last year, in 2019.
Nicola: Vic is part of the Dementia Care Team at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. We first met when I was dressed as an elf for one of our Intergenerational Process Drama workshops with patients and school children at Charing Cross Hospital. Since then, Vic has been allocated to work with me to co-host our Student Knowledge Exchange project, so she is learning to facilitate applied theatre work, film making, student placement support and virtual reality skills… and we are learning from Vic and her team about dementia and delirium.
Tell us more about the projects you’re working on together?
Nicola: We’ve been preparing for the coming term, updating all projects to happen digitally on wards as a response to COVID-19 on-site restrictions. We are excited to say we have successfully run a pilot project with a team of MA Applied Theatre students Leanne Twidale, Sofia Christofiou, and Holly Allen across two hospitals, and who have created a number of digital artefacts for patients in response to their inspiring life stories and interests.
Victoria: The pilot project is called ‘Your Story Your Way’, and for the last few weeks the students and patients created wonderful, bespoke artefacts together which the patients are able to bring home with them. So far, they’ve created personalised poems and small clips on CD. We’re doing this Knowledge Exchange project with MA Applied Theatre Students at Charing Cross and St Mary’s Hospitals.
How did the idea for a music video first come about?
Nicola: The song was a pilot project too to commemorate the positive and supportive relationship between Vic and a patient she worked closely with.
Victoria: Music is one of the essential tools in managing distress, especially in hospital. We all know this unprecedented COVID-9 Pandemic has caused a big impact on each and every individual, but especially on people living with dementia. It really makes them feel alone and lonely, as family members are unable to visit the in hospital, or due to self-isolation.
I had a patient who was very distressed and was missing her 2 dogs, Babe and Charlie (a labradoodle and a poodle), dearly. They are the only companions she’s had for the last few years whilst living alone, and when she was admitted she was very unsettled and missing them so much. That’s when I met her, and we created this unique relationship on the ward. I visited her every single day to make sure she was okay, and I also did some activities with her to keep her occupied. I managed to track down the kennel (where Babe and Charlie were being kept) and I asked them to send videos and photos to reassure her that they were alright. She loves listening to music, and that is why our team created a music video for her. She was speechless, very happy and grateful, and the staff loves it.
Nicola: The song is co-written by my Dad, Dave Abraham and I, and Vic sings the lead vocal. We also made videos of positive, creative interactions Vic had with the patient as part of the wonderful provisions provided by the Dementia Care Team. This was added to the video with footage of Vic singing the song and then presented to the ward staff and the patient, which you can see at the end of the video.
The patient was speechless to see what was created for her and very pleased with the result. We hope to integrate song writing as a storytelling mode to our projects this coming term, since it was so successful in this case. A further extension of the project might be to share the songs with family members who are unable to travel to hospital to visit their loved ones, and to show some of the creativity being conducted to support patient wellbeing.
In this particular case, the patient has kindly consented for the team to also use the video as a fundraiser for materials to support further person-centred care for patients.
Tell us about the process of bringing this idea to life - from creating the music, to filming and editing the video?
Nicola: Form our side, my Dad and I have been writing songs over the course of lockdown for something positive and creative to do together, and to keep our spirits up whilst continuing to work. But this song was a bit different. You know when you hear a piece of music and something about it just stays with you? I found a melody pop into my mind almost immediately, so I wrote it down! I guess I’d also been talking to Vic a lot in prep for our Student Knowledge Exchange project, so I had her story of this particular interaction and experience she’d had with her patient in my mind. Her constant positivity is really inspiring. ’Have a Little Faith’ is a song for the patient, but I guess it’s also for you, me and everyone at the moment to keep our chins up in the face of uncertainty and to take care of ourselves and remember what’s important to us. The lyrics are about that simple mantra, and I hope they bring all who listen at least a little smile.
My Dad is brilliant at creating backing tracks, so he was making sometimes 2 - 3 per week and we would send the track and separate vocals back and forth over e-mail - when the wifi worked - and construct a song piece by piece. For this song, poor Vic was subjected to my guide vocal (which most likely should have come with a warning to wear ear protectors!) and then recorded the lead vocal with my make-shift home studio (which sounds much grander than it is!). I then exported the tracks and sent them to Dad, who mixed them, and added reverb and panned the sound appropriately (all of which has been a steep but fun learning curve for us both - though he is much better than me at this process!). Then I edited together the video with Vic’s instructions and we sent it to NHS Comms and Imperial Health Charity who kindly supported the project and allowed us to distribute it after the patient and ward staff had seen it and consented to its use.
We set up a Just Giving page, which is listed in the YouTube description for the song asking those who watch it to donate £1 if they like it and, importantly, to share it to get more interest and raise more pennies for the team.
What do the Dementia Care team and the patients you worked with think of the final product?
Nicola: Jo James, Consultant Nurse in Dementia and Delirium and Head of the Dementia Care Team noted that she is proud of what has been achieved by the team.
Victoria: It was all very wonderful comments from the team and hospital staff. They said it was a great music video, a very moving and inspirational song. They’re all hoping that it will make a difference.
What’s next for the music video?
Our target is to raise £3,000. It was released to the NHS intranet last week which was very exciting, and we hope it brings joy to the incredible NHS staff who are also working through this challenging period of time. We also hope it raises much needed funds for the team to continue to develop and advance their excellent practice. A secret ambition of the team is for Christmas Number 1! Who knows, anything is possible with the support of people who care.
What else are you working on?
Nicola: We are working on lots! On the 13th October, you will see us presenting for The Culture Capital Exchange on the pilot project we have been working on, ‘Your Story Your Way’. Lucy Gilby, another member of the Dementia Care team, and I are presenting an animated talk for the National Dementia Congress 2020 about our Intergenerational Project. We are also working on Student Knowledge Exchange projects as our priority and are super excited to welcome Charly Briscombe and Kirsty McMunn from BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education as our first third year placement students for this academic year starting on 5th October!
Jo James, Consultant Nurse in Dementia and Delirium and Head of the Dementia Care Team, and I have also had a book proposal accepted by Routledge called ‘Making Hospitals Better’ which will be a handbook of best practice for dementia, delirium and creative applied arts. It will share our learning from the projects we have previously conducted as well as insights into our up and coming digital versions of projects.
