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Carol Rogers MBE, Director of House of Memories at National Museums Liverpool, shares how House of Memories – an innovative museum-led dementia awareness programme – is supporting the health and social care sector and people living with dementia.
With approximately 944,000 people in the UK living with dementia, and this number expected to increase to more than 1 million by 2030, the need to find new and cost-effective ways to support them is a huge priority for those working in the public sector, from NHS trusts to local councils.
Many already work with charities and local community groups, but increasingly the public sector is also collaborating with the likes of museums, galleries and libraries, recognising the health and social benefits they can bring to people living with dementia and their carers, as well how they can support relevant professionals.
House of Memories, which launched in 2012 and has joined forces with the likes of local authorities, education providers, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Welsh government over the years, is a strong example of how museums can support people living with dementia and their carers.
Much of our programme is centred around the My House of Memories app, a collection of pictures of museum objects from across the decades which have been brought to life with sound, music and descriptions. The app allows people living with dementia to explore these objects – many of them part of everyday life for older generations – and find things that resonate with them, from a Singer sewing machine to a 10 shilling note.
To encourage people living with dementia to engage with the app and to develop understanding among carers and others of how important objects can be to communication, House of Memories holds regular in-person training for both family carers and health and social care professionals at the Museum of Liverpool. The success of this training over the past few years has encouraged the team to launch online training for health and social care professionals too.
House of Memories also creates events and experiences for people living with dementia, as well as their carers. The team holds monthly ‘memory walks’ at the Museum of Liverpool and there’s ‘House of Memories On The Road’, a mobile museum which travels to care homes and community settings where it transforms into a cinema and activity space. Inside the space, immersive technology recreates the sights and sounds of the past, including a visit to a 1950s grocery shop and a virtual day out at the seaside.
As the number of people living with dementia increases, it’s so important to find new and creative ways to support them and the people who care for them, including health and social care professionals.
More Information:
Find out how your organisation can collaborate with House of Memories on our website.