About The Cheyne Gang
It all began with a research project, funded by the Queen’s Nursing Institute of Scotland. The project studied the impact of singing groups on people living with respiratory disease. The results showed significant improvements in quality of life for the participants and this included reduced chest infections, reduced medication and fewer hospital admissions. So, in 2013, three Scottish practice nurses, with a love of singing and a keen interest in respiratory medicine, founded The Cheyne Gang. Pauline Waugh, Anne Ritchie and Sarah Marshall all had a deep understanding of the need and the importance of this work and wanted to improve the lives of as many people as possible living with long-term breathing conditions.
The Cheyne Gang was named by one of our founding members, Lenny Love, who attended the very first ‘Sing to Breathe’ group in Cheyne Street, Edinburgh. The group still meets there to this day, at the Lifecare Centre. You can imagine how exciting it was when we found out that Edwardian respiratory doctor, John Cheyne, who discovered the Cheyne-Stokes respiration, was from Edinburgh!
From small beginnings we have grown and we now run eight "Sing to Breathe" groups - in Edinburgh (4), the Scottish Borders, Glasgow, West Lothian and the Highlands. In Summer 2025, we launched an exciting partnership with Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland to enable us to bring ‘Sing to Breathe’ groups to communities all across Scotland. Our West Lothian and Highland groups are the first groups in this new collaboration and we look forward to setting up many more groups in the coming years.
We are proud to provide training for song leaders, teaching the knowledge and skills necessary to lead ‘Sing to Breathe’ sessions. The Cheyne Gang training course enables participants to effectively support the health and wellbeing of people with respiratory conditions, through evidence-based breathing exercises and group singing.
Since the very start, Pauline Waugh was the main driving force behind the Cheyne Gang. Very sadly, Pauline died in March 2025. She is sorely missed by her family and friends and all of the Cheyne Gang community. We will strive to realise her dreams and ambitions for the Cheyne Gang, and to bring the joy and health benefits of singing to the people who need it. We celebrate all the lives she touched and her inspirational life and legacy.