Fenland care home delights residents with memory boxes during dementia action week

Staff at a Fenland care home have been hard at work creating memory boxes for residents to enjoy.

Staff at Hickathrift House in Marshland St James were thinking about those residents who are living with dementia and what they might really enjoy, and came up with this idea to help them reminisce and to mark Dementia Action Week.

Many of the boxes were donated by staff from various departments as well as the local Shoe Zone located on Wisbech Retail Park.

The memory boxes are different for each resident, the team at Hickathrift House covered individual boxes with a design .

Made up like a hamper, the boxes contain all sorts of items relevant to the individual resident and their lives to remind them of where they

grew up, the job they did, hobbies, favourite food and drink, and their preferred pastimes.

The residents pull out an item and then discuss its relevance to them which brings them a great deal of enjoyment.

Kat Colangelo, activities coordinator, said: “We’re so pleased with how well the memory boxes have been received, they have sparked so many beautiful memories. Our residents love engaging with all the components included. What surprised us most was that, although we came up with this idea for individual residents, the memory boxes have gone down really well with groups too. It seems everyone loves them.”

Paula Colman, the home’s general manage, added: “This project has been a whole team approach as well as support by a local business Shoe Zone. It’s small acts like this which help us provided person-centred care and life enriching moments for every resident at Hickathrift House.

“Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.”