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A visit to museum on prescription for lonely


LONELY old people are being pre- scribed a trip to Maidstone Mu- seum to get them out and about and meeting new friends. Museums on Prescription (MoP)


is a three-year research project being carried out by University College London (UCL), funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. It aims to connect lonely older people at risk of social isola- tion with museums in central Lon- don and Kent. The research team has been look-


ing at the role of museums in im- proving health and wellbeing for several years, with a focus on the benefits of touch and object-han- dling, for people in hospitals and healthcare settings. The study fol- lows a similar project, Heritage in Hospitals. The team plans to bring groups


of elderly and housebound people to Maidstone Museum to investi- gate the value of heritage encoun- ters in “social prescribing” – linking people to sources of com- munity support to improve their health andwell-being.


Maidstone museum is taking part in a project looking at how visits to


exhibitions can improve the wellbeing of older people


Similar projects already operate


inAustralia,NewZealand, Canada and the United States. The research teamwants to com-


pare how schemes work in an urban setting – London – and a re- gional setting – Maidstone. They alsowant to look at the value of an MoP scheme in a small museum and a large museum, such as the British Museum. The project is headed by Dr


Helen Chatterjee at UCL’s School of Life and Medical Science, as- sisted by Dr Linda Thomson, cog- nitive psychologist at UCL; Professor Paul Camic, professor of psychology and public health and


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www.downsmail.co.uk Maidstone South March 2016 25


research director at Canterbury Christ Church University; Dr Brid- get Lockyer, postdoctoral research fellow at Canterbury Christ Church University; and Dr Theo Stickley, professor of mental health at Not- tingham University. Curators at Maidstone Museum


are looking at a range of sessions that could benefit the elderly, in- cluding painting on parchment, clay oil lamp-making, vase-paint- ing and corsage-making. As well as the main museum,


local and natural history exhibits and tours could also take place in the Carriage Museum in Mill Street.


v News


Driver banned A SUTTON Valence man caught drink-driving on New Year’s Day has narrowly escaped prison. Christopher Paul Walker (49)


from South Bank, was stopped by police in Headcorn Road on January 1 and found to have 127mg of alco- hol in 100ml of breath – more than three times the legal limit of 35mg. He pleaded guilty at West Kent Magistrates’ Court and was sen- tenced to 40 days in prison, sus- pended for 12 months. He was also banned from driving for 30 months and ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work in the next 12 months. Hemust also pay £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.


Car offences


AMANwhopleaded guilty to driv- ing without a licence, MOT and in- surance in East Farleigh, appeared before Mid Kent magistrates. Arturas Rudzinskis (27), of no


fixed address, admitted using a ve- hicle without a valid licence or test certificate, driving without insur- ance and failing to provide a breath specimen. Hewas stopped while driving an


Audi A3 in Gallants Lane. Magistrates banned Rudzinskis


from driving for 18 months. He must also pay a £440 fine, £85 costs and a £22 victim surcharge.


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