Memory Boxes helping families remember their loved ones

Here at our Trust, we know that hospital is not where many people hope to spend their final days, yet it is a reality some families face.

To offer comfort at an incredibly difficult time, Chesterfield Royal Hospital Trust Charity supports the palliative care team to provide memory boxes containing keepsakes, giving families a meaningful way to remember their loved one.

This support forms part of the SWAN model, an evidence‑based approach used across the UK and within our Trust to guide compassionate, personalised end‑of‑life and bereavement care.

It’s about delivering individualised care every time, supporting families when someone is approaching the end of life, and ensuring every person is treated with dignity, compassion and respect.

As part of this approach, our charity funds memory boxes containing a variety of keepsakes, made possible through generous donations. These include items such as journals, fleece blankets and other comforting resources for patients and relatives at the end of life.

Thanks to our supporters, we’re able to provide this service and fund initiatives like this, which go beyond the limits of NHS funding.

Beth Clarke, Macmillan End of Life Lead Nurse here at the Trust, told us about the importance of these boxes for families: “Memory boxes are a valuable resource in End of Life care as they provide families with something tangible to hold onto during an intensely emotional and often overwhelming time. When a loved one dies, families can feel frightened that memories will fade. A memory box helps preserve precious connections and creates a lasting legacy of the person who has died. The items we are able to provide help families remember not only how their loved one looked, but who they were and the role they played in their lives.”

To learn more about our charity and support initiatives like this, please explore our website.