A patient’s dying wish to hear classical music was fulfilled at Mackay Base regional hospital in Queensland recently. Dr Michael Lam, a gifted cellist and medical registrar played a range of classical music including Bach's first and third cello suites, Saint-Saëns' "The Swan" and Schubert's Ave Maria.
The patient had decided to end her treatment for a long-term chronic condition in May 2022 and when she was admitted to hospital with another acute condition, wanted to pass in a dignified and peaceful way. As part of supporting her through her end-of-life planning, she expressed her desire to hear live music one more time.
In a statement by Mackay Hospital and Health Service (MHHS), Dr Lam said the patient was so appreciative she asked him to play for her again later that day.
“She was really pleased and shared with me her love of classical music. She told me it reminded her of her childhood,” he said.
Clinical Director of Medicine Senior Staff Specialist Dr Manjit Pawar was among the staff outside the patient’s room to listen to the music.
“It was spine tingling to hear the beautiful music of Bach with staff and patients stopping to listen as they passed.
“We could see how at peace the patient was, content and so happy with Michael's playing.”
Prior to training as a physician Dr Lam studied music at the University of Toronto and the Shanghai Conservatory and has toured the world playing cello, piano and flute. He is also a gifted singer and choral conductor. He has also been involved with the Queensland Medical Orchestra and Choir (QMO).
“The most unbelievable thing I've learnt in Med School is: How many of the great composers had significant chronic illnesses; and that you can track the severity of their illnesses chronologically through their music. My favourite example of this is Maurice Ravel's apraxia and aphasia, developing as early as 1927,” Dr Michael Lam claimed in his QMO profile.
“Ravel’s musical output at this time included the Bolero (1928), the Piano Concerto for the left hand (1929-30) and the Piano Concerto in G (1929-31).
“Ravel wished to premiere his piano concerto but was hampered by significant fatigue of unknown cause. A car crash in 1933 accelerated his decline and he never composed again from that point onwards.”
Dr Lam is in the process of specialising as a palliative care physician, a doctor whose role includes patient’s emotional support as well as medical and physical wellbeing at end of life.
“I've done this many times before and I know that a lot of patients are helped when we do non-medical things to look after them holistically” he said in a statement.
He said music and medicine often go hand in hand.
“It's been clear to me for a long time that music has a therapeutic benefit for both patients and staff,” he explained.
Dr Lam has been a long-time advocate for music in hospitals. In 2019, he was part of a group of medical professionals who secured funding for a grand piano to be placed in the lobby at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
"We know that it helps significantly in the fields of anxiety relief, people suffering from eating disorders and as a distraction care therapy for palliative care patients," he said in an interview with the ABC in 2019.
Dr Pawar reflected “Medicine is not just about using medications and operations to ‘fix’ things, something I think we forget sometimes. Reaching out to our patients as another human is just as important, I will never forget this moment”.
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