Critical Care staff help families remember loved ones
Bereaved families from the Critical Care Unit at Wrexham Maelor Hospital are being offered bereavement boxes in memory of their loved ones, thanks to the nurses that cared for them.
The boxes, created by Sarah Anglesea-Davies and Kate Sinclair, both Senior Sisters, and Hayley Whitehead-Wright, Senior Staff Nurse, are funded through Awyr Las: The North Wales NHS Charity to help families through their loss of a loved one.
Sarah and Kate both felt that creating these boxes was “the right thing to do” for families and have received incredibly positive feedback on them over the years.
Sarah, who works on the Critical Care Unit at Wrexham Maelor, said: “During the pandemic it was extremely difficult for families as they weren’t allowed on the ward to see their loved ones. We began making community visits to bereaved families and offered them the boxes. We had such positive feedback from families and some will often fill them with personal items and keep them as their memory boxes.”
Included in the boxes are Forget Me Not seeds, a candle, organza bag for locks of hair, heart decoration where half stays with the patient and half goes with the family, and paper and ink for handprints.
The Critical Care Unit sees around 12 deaths per month, so these boxes make a difference to a large number of local families. On average, the boxes cost £10 each and have only been made possible thanks to donations to the Critical Care Unit in Wrexham.
Talking about the boxes, Kate said: “We are so proud of what we have created for families of those that sadly pass away on the unit. It’s just a little extra thing that we can do to support families through their loss.”
To support the Critical Care Unit in Wrexham, you can donate online here.
