A room furnished with memorabilia from a familiar period can have a positive effect on the wellbeing of dementia and elderly patients. It enables them to tap into memories from their past triggering happy memories and feelings of confusion can be replaced with a calming feeling of familiarity.

With this is mind, patients at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will soon be able to take a little trip back in time to the 1940s onwards.

Ward 41 at King’s Mill Hospital, which provides care for elderly patients including those with dementia, is currently creating a reminiscence room furnished with memorabilia from the 1940s onwards, including newspapers, photographs, tins and other associated items from the period.

Joanne Lewis Hodgkinson, Ward Leader, is responsible for creating the new reminiscence room. She said: “This room will be invaluable to patients by acting as point of interest and a fantastic conversation starter.

“It will provide them with the chance to have a cup of tea and chat about the old times – I expect to see some really good friendships start to develop. The room will also help improve dementia care by giving patients a distraction and even some new stimulation.”

If anyone would like to donate any photographs of the local area from this period or other period items such as phones or radios, contact the Communications Team at [email protected] or telephone 01623 22515 extension number 2715.