Age Concern East Cheshire

• 1: Home
  • 1.1: Who's Arthur
• 2: Donate Now
• 3: What's On
  • 3.1: Calendar of Events
  • 3.3: Day Trips
  • 3.4: Gentle Exercise
• 4: Services
  • 4.1: Information and Advice
    • 4.1.1: Benefit Information
    • 4.1.2: Counselling Service
    • 4.1.3: Wills Advice
  • 4.3: Supporting You
  • 4.4: Long-term Care Discharge
  • 4.5: Healthy Lifestyles
    • 4.5.1: Fit as a Fiddle
  • 4.6: Computer Learning
    • 4.6.1: Help Sheets
    • 4.6.2: Useful Websites
  • 4.7: Hospital Creative Activities
  • 4.8: Day Care
  • 4.9: Home Help
  • 4.10: Foot Care
  • 4.11: Trading
  • 4.12: Shops
  • 4.13: Equity Release
• 5: Help Us
  • 5.1: Volunteering
  • 5.2: Volunteering FAQ
  • 5.3: Fundraising
  • 5.4: Sponsor Us
• 6: Jobs
• 7: About Us
  • 7.1: Beginnings
  • 7.2: Contact Us
  • 7.3: Environment policy
• 8: Attitudes
  • 8.1: Myths about ageing
• 9: Useful Links
  • 9.1: Traders Register

Hospital Creative Activities

This project is well-respected and recognised as making a positive contribution to increasing well-being and aiding recovery in long-stay hospital patients.  The activities programme is designed to stimulate, entertain and provide diversional therapies for patients on the orthopaedic and rehabilitation wards in Macclesfield District General Hospital, and for older patients with a functional mental health illness in the Millbrook Psychiatric Unit.  Activities range through music, arts and crafts, games, reminiscence and discussion groups, including a patient forum to facilitate feedback to hospital staff.

The therapeutic effects of these activities have been demonstrated to be a major factor in aiding recovery.  Inactivity is extremely debilitating for older people, whereas activity has been shown to bring about physical and psychological changes in long stay hospital patients and significantly benefit recovery.

The project co-ordinator and volunteers work within the hospital Monday to Friday.  Volunteers have included students from King's School in Macclesfield who are interested in a career in medicine and enjoy being in the hospital environment and making a positive contribution to the well-being of patients.  Patients are delighted to enjoy the company of a young person for a chat or a game of scrabble.

Over recent years the project co-ordinator has been invited to enhance the environment on the wards and their corridors with the painting of murals.  This has been achieved with the full involvement of patients, making suggestions, wielding a paintbrush or just observing or commenting.  The picture below shows one of the murals.

"I know the answers are there in my head but find it so hard to get them out.  Doing quizzes with my friends is helping me to get my memory back."