I WOULD like to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped (or is helping) raise the profile of dementia during Dementia Action Week beginning May 21.

Anything which raises awareness of dementia must be applauded.

It's one of the biggest medical challenges that we face and it can be very isolating.

We know that people with dementia often live in a silent world yet music can bring a person back to life.

Work that we've done at the Utley Foundation with the International Longevity Centre-UK has shown how music can alleviate symptoms for people living with dementia, yet less than 5% of the 16,000 care homes in the UK provide music as part of treatment.

We want to change this and are looking to appoint an ambassador to mobilise a task force to help create more access to music for people with dementia.

Research suggests that there is a "memory bump" for music: people with dementia retain the clearest memories for the music they enjoyed and heard between the ages of ten and 30.

So we'll be looking to help introduce musical initiatives which unlock these memories like digital playlists in a person’s home, running community choirs inclusive of people with dementia and bringing trained musicians into care settings.

We've got some way to go to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of people living with dementia but thank you to those who have helped us champion the use of music therapy, it's hugely appreciated.

Paul Hardcastle, musician and producer