£1m drive to tune in dementia lifeline'

REGION TO BECOME CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR MUSIC THERAPY

- ADAM MAIDMENT

GREATER Manchester is to become the UK's first ever Centre of Excellence for Music and Dementia thanks to the launch of a major programme with more than £1m in funding.

Officially unveiled yesterday, the ground-breaking project will allow the Manchester Camerata orchestra and Alzheimer's Society continue their research-based music therapy programmes and enable more people to help those living with dementia.

The three-year programme aims to understand how the use of music in dementia care can reduce the need for health and care services whilst also improving the social and communication skills of those being looked after.

Statistics from the NHS suggest that it costs £34 billion each year to provide dementia care with more than 940,000 people in the UK believed to have the syndrome - including one in 11 people over the age of 65.

By 2025, the Alzheimer's Society estimates that more than one million people will have dementia in the UK.