Gloucester House care home with nursing in Sevenoaks have installed their first Tovertafel (‘Magic Table’ in Dutch), bringing much joy to the residents. The Tovertafel is an award-winning innovation from the Netherlands, which is renowned for its cutting-edge approach to dementia care.

The technology has been designed to help those at a later stage on their dementia journey be more active and create moments of happiness. It consists of a series of interactive games that are projected on a table. The light games encourage players to reach out towards them and the lights subsequently respond to their hand and arm movements, allowing the residents to play with light, which is truly magical.

Gloucester House provides residential, dementia and nursing care for up to 54 people. It is one of 24 homes run by Greensleeves Care, a growing and dynamic charitable organisation which provides highly innovative and award-winning care for older people in its residential, dementia and nursing homes across England.

The Tovertafel creates a fun, safe environment for all residents. The games are formulated with the intention to trigger a sense of reminiscence among players in order to encourage stimulation socially, cognitively and physically. As light simulations, games are projected onto a table and include gardening, fishing and popping balloons.

Commenting on the installation Jo Palmer, Home Manager at Gloucester House, said:
“When we introduced the magic table at a recent resident and relative meeting, it was amazing to witness so many residents enjoying happy moments with their loved ones. This was one of the main reasons why we decided to purchase the table. We are excited to see what happiness and magic the Tovertafel will bring to our residents.”

John Ramsay, CEO of Shift8* – the company which brought Tovertafel (The Magic Table) to the UK and Ireland said:
“We are delighted that Gloucester House have installed the Tovertafel. As a care home that pride themselves on dementia care, we are thrilled to further enhance the quality of life that residents enjoy here. We can’t wait to see the residents interact with the Tovertafel games and each other and are delighted to hear that other visitors to Gloucester House, such as their Mums and Toddlers Group are going to get involved as well. Tovertafel is like a universal language of play where all people can participate and it is great to see Greensleeves Care’s desire and effort to promote this to their community.”