Singing Doctor Works Wonders on Wards

They say music has the  power to heal and that is very much the case when it comes to the work critical care consultant Tom Owen experiences on a daily basis. 

 

 Tom works at Royal Preston Hospital  in the intensive care and rehabilitation unit. As you can imagine he sees severe cases of patients in  terrible states yet he has discovered the art of music to calm their concerns. 

 

As well as juggling a full time job Tom plays bass guitar for his band Gruffalo’s Child and occasionally performs solo near his Kendal home, this includes guitar accompaniment and a vocal rendition of classic hits. 

 

This inspired him to start performing to his patients and the results have been quite amazing as Tom explains, 

 

“I started in lockdown, we had a lot of long-stay patients who were very ill. We do a lot of rehab and part of that is getting to know them as a person, what they like and what they don’t like. 

 

I said to one of my patients, ‘you like your music, do you want me to play a song?’

 

From that initial question the requests have been pouring in from Foo Fighter to Elvis Presley to Ralph McTell’s ‘Streets of London’. 

 

Many people assume the intensive care unit is all emergency go! But the rehab team create a personal touch which really helps in their recovery. 

 

Tom has worked at the Royal Preston for the past 14 years and says the experience of watching patients make drastic improvements is hugely rewarding. 

 

“It’s good because we get to know them. They’re not just patients, they’re people with families”.

 

^Alex Ashworth CCG UK Blogger