Nostalgia boxes help boost Alzheimer patients’ memory

WIDNES Vikings first team stars Ted Chapelhow and Brad Walker visited Whiston Hospital on Friday, September 21, as they donated a box of Vikings memorabilia to help support World Alzheimer’s Day.

The memory box was made up of programmes, shirts and pictures donated by supporters to help support the What Matters To You campaign.

The visit was supported by Widnes Vikings’ charity social care partner, Community Integrated Care, who provide specialist dementia care across the region and generously donated a nostalgic memory box.

Chapelhow and Walker met patients and staff on a ward which specialise in supporting older people and those living with dementia.

They visited the reminiscence rooms on the ward, which included a 1950s themed living room and classic sweet shop.

Whiston Hospital is a key partner of the Beat The Scrum campaign, which aims to use rugby league to promote positive health across the region.

Widnes Vikings first team member, Ted Chapelhow, commented: “It was great to be able to come down to Whiston Hospital today as part of their World Alzheimer’s Day celebrations.

“Over the past year, we have really enjoyed getting a chance to know the fantastic team at Whiston Hospital, and seeing first-hand the fantastic work they do, through the Beat The Scrum campaign.

“This was another inspirational day, we really enjoyed meeting the patients and reminiscing with them after presenting our memory box, as well as speaking to the staff who work on the ward.

“Visits like this are really rewarding, and we would like to thank all of the supporters who donated memorabilia and supported this campaign.”

Teammate Brad Walker added: “It was great to be joined on this opportunity by Community Integrated Care.

“They are a fantastic organisation and a project like this shows the strength of our partnership. It was fantastic to see what the memory boxes that they donated meant to staff and patients at the hospital.”