2nd May, 2017

Holt Day Room - 1950s Style Memories!

The Holt Day Room was opened with the idea of being a 1950s Memory Room helping to encourage a calmer state of mind through familiarity with surroundings for people with dementia.  The room was designed to look retro-1950s, with furniture and wall paper included.  The TV carefully concealed a secret DVD player so footage from the 1950s could be shown to patients visiting the room.  The footage included Princess Elizabeth becoming Queen, Winston Churchill as Prime Minister and the death of iconic young film star James Dean.  There are also places where patients can eat and relax in the room, including vintage cups and saucers along with tables and chairs.

The room is made to look authentic.  It includes a retro clock, tv, mirror and sideboard as you can see.  The whole concept was to create the feel and aura of the 1950s whilst still abiding by all modern regulations.  It has a real effect fire, photos, books, and football programmes from that era along with games like Draughts, Dominoes, The Beetle Game and The Amazing Robot that were popular at the time.

The feedback from the patients has been fantastic.   And the idea of bringing familiarity through recognizable surroundings to reduce anxiety in dementia patients seems to be having a really positive effect.

The £12,000 transformation of Holt Day Room to what we see now was greatly helped by a £10,000 donation from David Mackie (pictured centre) from Norfolk’s Ivy Child Trust.  Next to him is his wife Mrs Christine Mackie also a Trustee for the Ivy Child Trust.

Deputy Sister Julie Payne (second from left) who started the fundraising said afterwards: “For patients with dementia familiarity makes their stay better.  The patients love it. It’s the only room like it in the hospital and we’re so proud of it.”

Also in the picture above are Sally Andrews from Accent Design (far left) and Joe Taylor Graphic Artist on the far right of the picture.

As most of the patients are in their nineties, the hope is that those with dementia will feel that the room looks familiar and will help spark memories and conversations.  It will also provide a relaxing space for relatives to talk to patients or staff.

The work was completed collaboratively with Accent Design.  Printing was performed by GGS Creative Graphics.

~