Local MP Maria Miller met up recently at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital with members of the Wessex Heritage Trust and the National Lottery Community Fund, as well as Alex Whitfield, Chief Executive of the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT), to learn more about the Memory Box Project which aims to engage, support and share memories with people living with dementia.
Maria heard about the Memory Box Project from Wessex Heritage Trust’s CEO Ian Smith, and Senior Project Manager Erin McMurtry, as well as Rachel Hayden, Lead Dementia Specialist Nurse for HHFT and Victoria Curtis, National Lottery Community Fund Funding Officer. The project has been running for three years, and has now secured a further three years funding from the National Lottery. Sessions are run in some 200 venues across Hampshire, including Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital.
Maria said: “ I was very pleased to visit the Hospital and hear about the great work of the Wessex Heritage Trust and the Memory Box Project, which is only possible because of support from The National Lottery, as well as Hampshire County Council and others who support it too.”
“It was a real pleasure to participate in a Memory Box session, and great to speak to the people who were taking part and see how their memories were triggered, and how relaxed they were as a result of that.”
“It is great news that the National Lottery has agreed to continue its funding for another three years, so that it can continue to run Memory Box sessions across Hampshire and help improve the lives of people living with dementia.”