Trustees Week: Our Chair Maureen Hall looks ahead

Our Chair, Maureen Hall, reflects on her experiences of our live music, our achievements in 2025/26 and what this means for the future of Music in Hospitals & Care as we approach our 80th anniversary in 2028.

“Attending one of our Music Jam sessions at the Edinburgh Royal Hospital was a wonderful experience for me. Our musician Charlie Gorman has been sharing live music at this large psychiatric hospital for many years and both he and the staff encourage those attending to perform for the audience.

One young man started singing 500 Miles by The Proclaimers. He began very hesitantly and avoided eye contact with the audience, but Charlie expertly encouraged him by playing along and gently guiding his singing. By the end of the song, the man was engaging with the audience and getting everyone to clap along and join in with the chorus. The transformation in his demeanour was incredible and I could just see his confidence grow before our eyes.

Many of those who attended were younger long term psychiatric patients. As the close relative of a young man who has spent much of his adult years in and out of psychiatric care, I know how important it is to combat the isolation and lack of social confidence that come with such periods in hospital.

One of Music in Hospitals & Care’s key investment in the past year was to give staff time to work on a new live music strategic review, and I am delighted that one outcome of that work was a decision to roll out the Music Jam approach across the UK in the same way we have already done with ICU Hear® and Lullaby Hour. Another new approach, Room for Music, combines group live music in communal spaces with one-to-one music at people’s bedsides. This has been trialled successfully in a number of settings and will also be rolled out more widely.

In 2024, we extended our previous overall strategic goals for a further two years to 27/28, as we were confident they remained relevant. We can see that the financial investment of the last three years is already bearing results. We are, however, already thinking about 2028 and beyond. As new trustees join the Board, we will continue to welcome fresh insights and challenges around our work and purpose.

We are encouraged by the huge opportunity for future growth. We have increasing evidence of the positive impact of our work, and demand for our services is ever increasing. Live music generally is enjoying an increase in audiences, and we are optimistic that we can tap into that popularity to increase individual and corporate financial support, further diversifying our income. We are excited to work with all of our staff, musicians, volunteers and supporters to ensure that people in hospital and care can access and experience the joy of live music.”

A huge thank you to all of our trustees, who bring a wealth of experience and dedicate their time to moving the charity forward through a challenging landscape.