To provide comfort to bereaved families on the Intensive Care Unit (ITU) at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, our Charity has funded ‘Forget Me Not’ memory boxes. 

The memory boxes are available for bereaved relatives to create memories of their loved one. These memory boxes can be customised to contain a wooden heart plaque that can be personalised with the patient’s fingerprints, an LED candle, a poem called ‘Forget Me Not’, a glass jar for a lock of hair, and a knitted heart. The patient’s relatives can include an ECG rhythm strip of the patient, their wristband and any of their personal belongings in the box.

This initiative is led by Sabrina Sahota, Practice Development Nurse Intensive Care Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital who said: “We are grateful to the Trust Charity for the support they provided in sponsoring this initiative. On the Intensive Care Unit, we take pride in providing high quality care for our relatives as well as our patients. The memory boxes are a way for the patient’s families to grieve. It is great to see how a small gesture can provide so much comfort and ease to our patient's journey through intensive care.”

We were touched by the generous note received from a family member who received a ‘Forget Me Not’ memory box on ITU:

"I just wanted to say a huge thank you, my brother recently passed away on the Intensive Care Unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Shortly before his death, we were asked by one of your colleagues if we would like to have this simple looking wooden box, which contained a battery-operated candle, a knitted heart, this box since his death has provided us with great comfort. So thank you again, and long may these little boxes keep providing support to bereaved families."

It is only thanks to the generosity of our supporters that our Charity is able to fund initiatives that make a difference to those being cared for by the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust as well as their loved ones.

There are many ways to get involved in supporting our Charity to help make a difference to Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust's patients, visitors and staff. If you would like to help us continue making a difference to patients and staff, please consider donating - no amount is too small.

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