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The Royce Manor Launches New Nursery

December 2, 2022

We are pleased to announce the development of a new memory support nursery at The Royce Manor. The official opening of the nursery marked a fitting conclusion to Dementia Action Week in September, and we are thrilled to now offer this as an extension of our memory care for those residents living with a dementia diagnosis.

How the idea came about

Before it was opened, The Royce Manor’s wonderful care staff and nurses came together to discuss treatment options for those living with dementia and decided to introduce doll therapy. The idea came about after staff noticed that residents seemed to go back to their younger days and were talking about children and/or babies. Many of our dementia residents were carrying baby dolls around because it proved to be calming and gave them a connection with the outside world.

The Benefits of Doll therapy

More broadly, doll therapy has proven very successful for anyone living with dementia as it can reduce anxiety, aggression and agitation. It also allows them the opportunity to relive their youth and reminisce about happier times. By doing so, residents can escape feelings of depression or hopelessness that can sometimes arise when living with dementia.

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Who the nursery is open to?

The new memory support nursery is open to all residents on Level 3 of The Royce Manor, which is our unit specifically for residents living with dementia.

The Royce Independent Living Residents wanted to be involved in the nursery by assisting or making items as required. To construct the nursery, the Operations team spoke to Independent Living resident Jim Newton who built custom adult-sized cradles for the nursery.

Mr Newton said: “The Royce residents’ workshop was very happy to be involved in this project and will help out wherever we can. To see the finished product and the joy it has brought to residents has been fulfilling.”

Doll therapy at The Royce Manor

The response from the residents has been positive with many of them filled with joy, smiling and crying with happiness. They were grateful to be given the dolls and immediately started nurturing them by patting or burping the babies’ tummies. The staff often see the residents carrying the babies down the corridors or pushing the prams down the hall with the baby.

We hope the doll therapy in the new memory care nursery will improve the energy, activity levels and mood of our residents. Improved energy and activity levels have been reported by many dementia organisations around the world as slowing down the effects of dementia, which subsequently will improve the quality of life for those in our care living with dementia.


If you’re interested in the Specialist Memory Support offering at The Royce Manor book a tour today.

Call our friendly team on (02) 4744 6000.