CHILDREN who lose loved ones at The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will receive memory boxes to support them through their grief.

To date around eight boxes have been issued, acting as an extension of the pastoral care the Trust offers to bereaved families.

Each box contains a number of items to support grieving children. These include age appropriate books to explain death and grieving and the kinds of feelings they are likely to experience, two hand knitted teddy bears – one for the child to keep and one to be kept with their loved one – and clay to create hand print moulds

The box acts as a keepsake for the children and is something they can add sentimental items to, helping them cherish their loved one for years to come.

Kate Holland, sister of the Trust’s Critical Care Unit, where the boxes were first issued, said: “Seeing a child experience the loss of a parent or close relative is heartbreaking and while we can’t take away their grief, if there’s anything we can do to support them, we will.

"When we saw Poole Hospital’s memory box project, we knew it was something we had to adopt for our patients. We’re extremely grateful to our fabulous team of volunteers who have been knitting the teddies – without their skill and generosity the boxes wouldn’t be nearly as special.”

*If you’d like to support the memory box project by knitting a pair of teddies, email proudto.volunteer@rbch.nhs.uk for the pattern.