The winning entries have been chosen in a competition to find designs for a new art project to support people living with dementia.
A competition was launched calling for pictures for a planned new therapeutic colouring book which will help to provide a calming activity for patients at Stepping Hill Hospital and community NHS services in Stockport, helping to soothe and put them at ease.
Ruth Terry, Matron for Dementia Care at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust received a great response following the call, with over 100 entries from local artists, both experienced and beginners. 50 of these entries are the winners which will be included in the books.
There were three overall winning entries too; from artists Cathy Carberry, Amy Kershaw, and Craig Callinor, each of whom will be receiving a gift voucher for their efforts.
Pupils from local schools Priestnall High School, Convenant Christian School, St James Catholic School, Ashcroft School all got involved. A winning entry was also received from Tony Husband, a renowned local cartoonist also known for a book he has written about his own experience of his father’s dementia.
People living with dementia can be disorientated, anxious and scared, and being in an unfamiliar environment such as a hospital this can heighten these feelings. For many, art can play an important role in countering these feelings. Having an activity to do can help someone living with dementia feel useful, engaged, safe and have a purpose, and the new art colouring book will be a help with this .
Now the entries are in, the book will be in production soon, before being distributed for frontline caring to share with their patients, and their families and carers.
Ruth Terry, Matron for Dementia Care said “We’re really delighted at the response we’ve had for this competition, with so many fantastic entries. It’s been very heartening to see the efforts people have gone to help support our book. Art therapy can be a real source of comfort and support for many people living with dementia, and this book will be providing that for patients in both Stepping Hill Hospital and our community services. I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has taken part.”
