Memory boxes – the Ystradgynlais story

In July 2016 I posted Memory boxes – connecting with the past – about a new initiative in Brecon run by the local museum. It is aimed at anyone working with, or caring for, older people living with dementia. Across the UK the approach is spreading as more communities decide to become dementia-friendly. A memory box scheme is a relatively easy and fun project to set up. And it is a very practical way to support people to reminisce about the past and thereby improve their wellbeing in the present. 

Sally Richards

Sally Richards, the PAVO Community Connector for Ystradgynlais and District, told me more about the Ystrad scheme. She also updated me about her work in the town, particularly in relation to supporting people living with dementia and those caring for them.

Dr Anja Pinhorn, a Consultant in Health Care of the Elderly at Powys Teaching Health Board, regularly works out of the Ystradgynlais Community Hospital. She initiated this memory box scheme working closely with a number of voluntary sector agencies in the town. Pulling in different groups has resulted in some truly unique memory boxes, with themes ranging from nature and wildlife, to sport and the Abercrave Rugby Football Club, the history of the local area, weddings, sewing, Christmas and cooking. 

Anja told us: "Staff at Ystradgynlais Hospital originally borrowed a couple of memory boxes from the Brecknock Museum Service and were impressed at how it opened up conversations on the ward. This led to the idea of developing our own conversation boxes. Staff have been overwhelmed by the response when we asked for help from diverse individuals and groups including Brecknock Wildlife Trust, the British Red Cross, a photographer based at Craig y Nos and the Ystradgynlais Volunteer Centre. Thank you all and keep the ideas for boxes flowing."

The boxes live on the 20 bedded Adelina Patti Ward at the hospital where they are used to stimulate conversation and memories about patients’ lives. These could include key events and anniversaries, holidays, interests and hobbies, working lives and everyday family activities. The boxes are crammed full of intriguing objects - everything from beer mats to confetti, knitted flowers to shoelaces! All to encourage an exploration not just with the eyes but also by touch, transporting people to their past lives. Sally explained that the benefits are obvious as the boxes can actually help stop people going into a low mood during a long stay in the hospital. Following their success on Adelina Patti Ward she is keen to spread the word and encourage their use in other sections of the hospital.

In her work as a Community Connector Sally regularly supports people living with dementia and those caring for them to make links with organisations that can help. Many practical issues will arise with a dementia diagnosis, including the need for more personal and medical care, and support with finances. However, “one of the hardest things for carers to deal with is losing the person that they fell in love with, or love, to the disease”.

Clients ask Sally about legal aspects relating to a dementia diagnosis such as Lasting Power of Attorney, or benefit payments like Attendance Allowance. However, sometimes what is of crucial importance to mental wellbeing is setting up links with local groups. If someone has had their driving licence revoked and feels their independence is being stifled, it is important to arrange transport so that they can continue to pursue their interests. In Ystradgynlais people are more likely to look south to Swansea, rather than north to Brecon and Llandrindod for activities, so Sally has to be expert in knowing about a wide-range of groups and services. 

A key challenge is trying to explain to people who live right on the Powys border with Neath Port Talbot why they have to access different statutory services from their neighbours.

Sally is based at the Ystradgynlais Community Hospital, where she sits in the Older Persons Integrated Team which is alongside a team of social workers and occupational therapists. “Being in the hospital is ideal as it means I can work in an efficient manner. If I receive a referral for someone who is due in day hospital on a Thursday I’ll nip and see them when they are in rather than make a separate appointment. And I can talk to the medical departments – get regular updates – and build good working relationships with colleagues in the hospital.”

She receives referrals from many of her statutory colleagues, including Community Psychiatric Nurse Assistants based at the community hospital. There is a daily half hour Integrated team meeting that she attends, where she and colleagues are joined by the Ward Sisters, Day Hospital Sisters, Physiotherapists, and District Nurses. Up for discussion - anyone over 65 with complex needs, with staff working together to provide the best care options possible for their patients and deciding who is best placed to provide it. Once Sally has picked up new referrals she works hard to match people up to relevant agencies, but sometimes it is challenging due to the pressures on overstretched voluntary sector services. “I can sometimes wait a long time to speak to someone in a busy charity, and last week at the end of one call instead of one referral I suddenly had four!”

Working closely with Theresa Huykman of Credu (formerly Powys Carers), Dementia Matters, the Alzheimer’s Society, and Christine Finch - the South Powys Dementia Support Worker, is clearly paying off. The partners have already identified gaps in services for carers of those living with dementia. As a result, they are launching a new dementia carers’ group (“a cuppa and a chat”) this Wed 21 February. Future get-togethers will take place monthly on the 3rd Wednesday, 10.30am – 12.30pm, at The Welfare, Ystradgynlais. If you’d like to know more about the group contact Theresa on 0777 334 2128.

If you’re based in the Ystradgynlais area and would like to find out more about helping make the community dementia friendly, check out the Dementia Matters in Powys website for the latest updates and information.

For general enquiries about dementia a good option is the Wales Dementia Helpline, 0808 808 2235 or the Alzheimer’s Society Helpline, 0300 222 1122.

Here in the PAVO mental health team we are loving these Ystradgynlais memory boxes. What theme would you pick if you were making a memory box for family and friends in your local community? Feel free to let us know in the comments section below.

And you can find out how to build a memory box with these easy-to-follow instructions from the Alzheimer’s Society.

Memory boxes – connecting with the past

I recently found out about an innovative new dementia-friendly project in Brecon called the Memory Box Loan Scheme, which is run by Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

“This new service is aimed at those working with, or caring for, older people. Each box has a particular theme and is made up of a range of objects from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The idea behind the boxes is that they can be used to stimulate memory and start conversation. They can be especially useful for talking about the past with a person with a dementia”.

Martine Woodcock, Education Officer at Brecknock Museum & Art Gallery, told me more:

The project was initially set up by our Volunteer Co-ordinator, Emily Tilling, who has since left Brecknock Museum. The project is now co-ordinated by myself and one of our curatorial assistants, Jacqueline Morgan. Emily spent a lot of time setting up the project and worked with a group of our Museum volunteers who were very interested in taking the project further. They were dedicated in their enthusiasm by either donating personal items or frequently visiting charity shops so that we could build up our collection. Local charity shops have been very generous in supporting the project when they hear what we are using the items for.

The service came about as one of the targets on our HLF Activity Plan was to run reminiscence sessions with older people. As we were about to start this we were invited to a Dementia Friendly session by Rhiannon Davies who is one of the Co-Chairs of Brecon Area Dementia Friendly Community. She delivered a fascinating and informative session and we decided that if we started up a Memory Box Loan Service then that would be of great benefit to elderly people whether they had dementia or not.

We have about 12 themed boxes altogether (Leisure, Sewing & Knitting, Men in the 50s & 60s, Transport & Holidays, Childhood, Women’s Fashion, Household, Photography, World War II, Cooking & Baking, and Shopping) and information has been circulated to care homes and day centres. The boxes don’t have an excessive amount in them and we try to put them in relevant containers such as a vanity case for ‘Women’s Fashion’ and a knitting bag for the ‘Sewing and Knitting’. 

We have opted for group rather than individual use at the moment, but that doesn’t mean that that won’t change in the future. The loan service has been very popular with boxes going out most weeks. We usually let organisations have them for about a fortnight so that other groups don’t have to wait too long.

We don’t facilitate the sessions ourselves. We are just the box providers. We send out a feedback form with the boxes so we know where we could improve the contents/service and we also send out discussion prompts and some item information sheets as we appreciate that those facilitating the session may not have come across the things in the boxes before. A prompt from the Sewing & Knitting box might be: “Did you use the phrase ‘make do and mend’? Did you wear darned or patched clothes? What were scraps of material or old clothes used for (rag rugs, cleaning cloths)?” The box contents include knitting needles, thimbles, tape measures, patterns, crochet and knitting samples, cotton reels, velvet, ribbon and an old knitting pattern magazine!

Rhiannon, and the other Brecon Area Dementia Friendly Community Co-chair, Joan Brown, are also very keen to involve the young people of Brecon in raising Dementia Awareness. Joan has been working alongside local Primary Schools. Year 6 pupils regularly visit care home residents and have used some of our boxes at sessions as well as devising their own.

So, as you can see, it really has taken off in Brecon! We are very proud that we can be a part of maybe bringing a little bit of pleasure for someone experiencing dementia. We are of course prepared for the fact that some objects may jolt unhappy memories too.

We have promoted the service well with the assistance of Brecon Dementia Friendly Community. We recently attended the ‘Ageing Creatively’ day as part of Gwanwyn (a festival each May celebrating creativity in older age) which was held at Theatr Brycheiniog where we displayed boxes. We did the same as part of ‘Dementia Awareness Week’ at The Guild Hall, Brecon. I have also done a talk to a group of Alzheimer’s Befrienders about how simple it can be to put a box together.

Rhiannon Davies, of Brecon Dementia Friendly Community (a familiar face on this blog) has used some of these memory boxes several times at the weekly Tea & Chat and Music & Memories sessions, as well as in care home settings. I spoke to her to find out more:

The volunteer co-ordinator at the museum was full of energy and ideas. Staff there could see what was possible and made it happen. Dr Anja Pinhorn, a consultant at the Brecon Memorial War Hospital, has also borrowed memory boxes to take on to the general ward. They have a lot of long-stay patients with physical illnesses, some of whom have dementia. It is really important to keep them interested and stimulated, and this is an excellent way of doing that. I hear that they are going to make “conversation boxes” in Ystradgynlais Hospital for use on the general ward.

At Brecon Dementia Friendly Community we are starting a new activity in the Autumn on the hospital wards – introducing creative activities and supporting the nursing staff with ideas to generate conversations so that people do not become institutionalised. The memory boxes have been used very successfully so far as they have items in them that can trigger memories and conversations. It can, otherwise, sometimes be difficult to start a conversation with a patient.

In one of the care homes I went into with the boxes a vanity case containing fashion items was used. It had things for ladies, including a suspender belt, stockings, lipstick and a powder pack. It was just fantastic! People actually wanted to pick up and handle the items and had a lot of fun. We don’t use some of these things any more but they take people back to the time when they were used often, and can trigger all sorts of memories such as taking people back to an age when they were much younger and getting ready to go to a dance.

The boxes are a very powerful way of stimulating memories and keeping people connected. There is then a collective connection which is lovely and enhances relationships between the staff and the patient or resident. After you have built this relationship you can achieve trust and it makes things much easier for people.

Many thanks to Martine and Rhiannon for telling us about this wonderful scheme. Perhaps you could use their ideas and develop something similar in your community?

The Brecon memory boxes are available to borrow free of charge. However, it is a collection-only service. To book a memory box or for further information call 01874 624121 or email brecknock.museum@powys.gov.uk