A nursing home based in Tooting, South West London has received a funding boost thanks to players of a charity lottery.

Residents at South London care home, Ronald Gibson House, can now benefit from an enhanced sensory room thanks to a grant of over £4500 from the People’s Postcode Trust, a grant-giving charity, funded entirely by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.

The Brendoncare care home has used the funds to improve the sensory room which offers a space for carers to provide residents, including those suffering with dementia, with relaxation techniques and sensory experiences to help promote feelings of calmness and wellbeing.

Older people often have some sensory loss (impaired sight/hearing) but these problems are sometimes exacerbated for dementia sufferers by their reduced ability to make sense of the environment. The grant contributed to decorating and equipping the room with stimulating items including a large bubble tube, a projector to project soothing images onto the walls and to initiate storytelling, a music system to play restful or favourite music and a variety of items to enable role play/inspire memories.

Activities Supervisor, Kasia Pawlak said: “We are delighted to have received this grant which helped us to improve our sensory room. As well as providing many health benefits such as encouraging attentiveness to the environment and increasing feelings of wellbeing, the sensory room provides a pleasant and relaxing environment for families visiting residents.”

Ronald Gibson House comprises a nursing home caring for 24 older people, a 16 bed wing for people with dementia and a 16 bed intermediate care unit run in partnership with Wandsworth Clinical Care Commissioning Group.

Brendoncare is a charity committed to improving the quality of life for older people. The organisation, which also celebrated its 30th birthday on 14th February 2014, runs 10 care centres and 70 friendship and wellbeing clubs that help older people living independently in their community.

For further information please visit www.brendoncare.org.uk or contact Patricia Kwame on 020 8877 9998.

People’s Postcode Lottery is a charity lottery, where players play with their postcodes to win cash prizes while raising money for good causes. As a charity lottery, 45p from every £2 ticket goes to support charities and good causes across England, Scotland and Wales, including People’s Postcode Trust. People’s Postcode Lottery believes in supporting local communities so the money raised stays local to players.

To find out more about applying for People’s Postcode Trust funding and the projects which the Trust supports visitwww.postcodetrust.org.uk.

If you’d like to be in with a chance to win cash prizes while supporting local good causes, sign up for People’s Postcode Lottery at www.postcodelottery.co.uk, or call 0808 1098 765.

Based on information supplied by patricia Kwame.