Welsh National Opera has released details of an evaluation report for its pilot “Wellness with WNO: Managing Persistent Pain Program.”

The six-week, one hour-long online singing and breathing pilot program, running from March 2024 to March 2025, is designed to support people living with persistent pain. The initiative was built off of “WNO’s Long COVID Program” which launched in 2021. Participants were referred from pain clinics across Wales, some self-referred and others were signposted by third sector organization, Cymru Versus Arthritis.

The report conducted by Milestone Tweed highlights substantial improvements in pain management, mental and emotional health, and overall quality of life for participants. As of Nov. 2024, when the report was compiled, 44 participants had taken part in 36 sessions, with an average of six attendees per session. Additionally, 65 participations were recorded across eight drop-in sessions, reflecting strong engagement and commitment.

The key findings from the evaluation (based on participants detailed above) are:

• Reduced Pain and Improved Functionality: The results showed a 67 percent improvement in pain/discomfort.
  Decreases in pain were reported by 66 percent of participants and they attribute this change to the programme. For at least one in ten, pain reduced significantly.
• Emotional and Mental Health Benefits: The results showed a 67 percent improvement in anxiety/depression and 69 percent reported enhanced health-related quality of life. Participants felt more positive, focused, and less burdened by their conditions.
• High Participant Engagement: 95 percent of participants continue using the breathing techniques and exercises post-program. Average attendance was 82 percent.
• Cost Efficiency: Sessions are estimated to cost of £12 per person per hour, compared to £34.30 for an NHS Band 7 Physiotherapist from Chronic Pain Services.
  Centralised delivery eliminates the need for individual health boards to establish costly programmes, aligning with NICE guidance and generating savings.
• Additional Benefits: Qualitative data highlighted themes such as holistic therapy through music, joy and positivity, empowerment, acceptance, self-management, community belonging, and increased knowledge and learning.

Wellness with WNO Participant June Evans was quoted in a press release, “The program has genuinely changed my life. Before I started the sessions, I was consumed by grief for the life I had before my illness and felt constantly controlled by my pain. Wellness at the WNO has taught me how to tame the pain and every session brings me one step closer to the person I used to be. It has brought joy back into my life and has showed me how to smile again.”

Alongside this new pilot, WNO has continued to develop and expand its flagship “Long COVID program” in this last year, to include other long-term conditions, such as ME/CFS and fibromyalgia, aligning with the Welsh Government’s Adferiad (Recovery) program. The initiative has garnered high levels of interest across the medical world, with presentations to the Traumatic Stress Wales Network, British Psychological Society, and international delegations.

WNO is also delivering new social prescribing initiatives, including a course for secondary school students experiencing anxiety and low confidence, a partnership with Velindre Cancer Centre to address breathlessness, and a pilot program for individuals in supportive care in partnership with Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

The program is funded by Welsh Government and in partnership with NHS Wales.

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