English National Opera trains Covid sufferers to breathe
mainOne of the symptoms of long Covid is a loss of lung capacity. This can be repaired by singing.
ENO has formed a partnership with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust to provide support to people recovering from COVID-19.
After a six-week trial with 12 patients, the programme is being rolled out to 1,000 patients across London and the North of England
Dr Sarah Elkin, Consultant in Respiratory Medicine & Clinical Director Integrated Care at Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust said: “It has been a pleasure to work with ENO Baylis on this programme. As we continue to respond to the latest surge in COVID-19 cases in the UK, we must also remember those patients who are still suffering with COVID symptoms long after their initial disease. Ongoing breathlessness is debilitating and can be frightening. We hope this programme will support people to improve and help reduce their symptoms. We look forward to widening participation as the programme rolls out across the country.”
To get to this point of suffering didn’t really have to happen.
Sad.
I can definitely see how this would help. I’m a flute player, not a singer, but when I’m working with patients I can tell most of them have no idea how to breathe (that is, they’ve never had to give any thought to the mechanics of it until now).