Money raised from a hospital appeal which helped to raise over £100,000 has helped to provide wards with a host of items to aid dementia patients.

The Forget Me Not appeal was initially set up by the My WiSH charity, which supports the work of the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, in 2014 and has so far raised £127,000.

It aimed to raise £25,000 at the start of the appeal but with the help and support of the local community it quadrupled the target in less than a year and has seen continued support from the community.

Now some of that money is being put to good use across the hospital with the charity providing an assortment of items including CD/radio players for each ward, activity boxes which each contains items such as gloop tubes, stress balls and reminiscence books, and twiddle muffs. The idea is they can be used to help calm patients with dementia but also help patients with learning difficulties.

It has also provided an array of graphics on the first floor of the hospital including for theatres. They feature a multitude of scenes including the Abbey of St Edmunds ruins, beaches, colourful gardens, sea scapes and many more.

Sally Daniels, the fundraising manager for the charity, said they were continuing to take donations for the appeal and added: “We wanted to let people know that we have been putting their donations to good use. The images have been provided to help make the corridors a much nicer environment and they certainly make a talking point for staff and patients which is wonderful.”

And Maggie Woodhouse, the dementia practitioner, said: “Up to 30% of our patients have a cognitive impairment so being able to support patients whilst they are here with our new activity boxes will enhance their stay and give meaningful reminiscent materials for patients to engage with.

“During these difficult months due to Covid the hospital has been a challenging environment for our patients with dementia so to have familiar pictures and objects can be a great comfort.”

People with dementia can find new surroundings daunting, so the appeal was launched as an initiative to support them and make their stay in hospital more comfortable.

It initially created a 100-metre long memory walk from the funds, featuring iconic local and national images to help patients reminisce and start a conversation. It also transformed wards, purchased reminiscence machines, calm carts, and paid for interactive sessions to improve patients’ wellbeing.
Every three minutes, one person in the UK develops dementia.

The charity needs help to continue enhancing the care patients receive and donations can be made via their website, www.mywishcharity.co.uk or contact the My WiSH Charity fundraising team on 01284 713466.