THERE is a turntable, a manual typewriter and some black and white photographs dotted about.

There are also newspapers telling the story of the moon landings and much of the furniture in the room dates from the 1960s and has been donated by the residents' families.

This 'time-warp' room has been created at the award winning Gibraltar House Nursing Home and, despite appearances, represents the very latest in caring for residents with dementia.

PSP Healthcare have been monitoring the latest research into the reduction in use of anti-psychotic drugs taken to combat Alzheimer's and firmly believe the new reminiscence room will help achieve this.

Evidence suggests reminiscence rooms play an important role in reducing the use of medication – it's very, very effective.

The aim of the room is to help dementia patients tap more easily into memories from their past, triggering more memories that can give them a grounding when they may be confused.

Each item in the room has been designed to evoke memories of happy times of bringing up children and to provoke conversation about the past.

Home manager Steph­ane Beaumont said: "Our residents can come into the room and we find it can calm them down. It's a working room the staff now use as an integral part of their care.

"If somebody is distressed in the night, we can bring them into the room and talk to them. We can go over their life history until they're completely calm and happy."

Gibraltar House caters for 95 residents of whom the majority are living with dementia.

The home's staff say these ground-breaking techniques are putting them ahead of Government calls to reduce the use of anti-psychotic drugs.