Music
UK hospital installs a Brian Eno room to calm patients
by Tyler Munro
April 22, 2013
Orthopedic surgeon Robin Turner took his usually fidgety mother-in-law to a Brian Eno installation and noticed she seemed calm and relaxed. This gave him an idea, the result of which is a new quiet room in England's private Montefiore hospital designed around Eno's music and intended to calm patients and give them a place to "think, take stock or simply relax."
photo via npr.org
Orthopedic surgeon Robin Turner took his usually fidgety mother-in-law to a Brian Eno installation and noticed she seemed calm and relaxed.
“She is normally very fidgety, you can’t pin her down; the phrase we use is that she goes at a million miles an hour with her hair on fire,” said Turner to the Guardian. “She went in and was there for two hours, which is unheard of. It was proof that this has a calming influence on people.”
This gave him an idea, the result of which is a new quiet room in England’s private Montefiore hospital designed around Eno’s music and intended to calm patients and give them a place to “think, take stock or simply relax.”
Early results include praise from a Cancer patient, who told Eno that he “wanted a copy of that room at home” before realizing who he was talking to. Turner intends to monitor guests while in the room, keep close eye on their pulse, blood pressure and anxiety level.
For his part, Eno’s involved and excited.
“It seemed a natural step for me to take as I’ve been dealing with this idea of functional music for quite a few years,” he said.
