Record numbers of people in England have been diagnosed with dementia in the past year, according to recent NHS data. The disease can devastate families, with many making the difficult decision to move a loved one into a care home.
John Ramsay understands the challenges of living with dementia first hand having cared for his father during his teenage years.
Now founder of Social-Ability, John is on a mission to encourage happiness in the care home community through interactive light technology, which is helping those with dementia to re-engage with loved ones and the world around them.
Health Tech World learns more.
Hi John. Where did your journey begin?
After Oxford, I became a corporate lawyer for Linklaters in the Magic Circle. And I did that for six to seven years.
But I realised that I didn’t want to just continue making rich people rich. I wanted to do something with meaning in my life. So one day, I just quit.
How did your early life experiences shape your new direction?
Sadly, when I was 12, my dad was diagnosed with dementia.
I spent about 10 years caring for him before he passed away at just 52. He used to be a consultant orthodontist at Guys and St Thomas’ in London.
At the point of quitting I realised that I’d put a lot of that in a box because it was a very unique experience to be a teenager with a dad in his 50s with dementia.
I didn’t know anyone else back then in the late ‘90s who’d been through that.
I realised that it had had quite an emotional effect on me and I hadn’t really dealt with it.
I also thought that if I couldn’t do something for people with dementia, then who could?
I took a bit of a break and spent some time looking at what was out there for people with dementia.
I saw a lot of interactive technology but realised that I could do that, but a million times better.
Back then, people would sell a piece of technology and they would leave.
Then that piece of tech would end up in the cupboard because staff turnover is high and most of the staff wouldn’t know how to use it or the novelty would wear off.
What I wanted to do in creating a piece of technology was actually create an impact and strand behind the impact.
What is it that our client’s investing in? They’re not just investing in technology.
What they’re actually investing in is a partnership with us. So I got investment and I set up Social-Ability and the Happiness Programme.
What is the Happiness Programme?
The programme is about laughter and happiness for people living with cognitive challenges.
It’s all based around an interactive projector that projects light animations onto any surface, typically a table, wall or ceiling.
Through a lot of trial and error and co-design with our clients, we’ve managed to create a series of over 100 activities with the lights.
John Ramsay
Through an infrared camera, you can actually play with the animations.
There might be leaves on a table that you can brush or a football that you can kick.
There might be a painting that you can paint in, or there may just be a sensory experience, like a sunset on the ceiling if you’re lying in bed.
We leave no stone unturned in showing our clients the secondary impacts that it can have, such as increasing physical, social and cognitive interaction with residents.
They could just be sitting in a chair with the TV on but actually engaging in the world around them.
How does this differ from the typical care home experience?
People are just asleep in a chair all the time, which is what happened to my dad.
In UK culture, as long as people are safe, the doors are locked, they’ve been fed, they’ve been washed and they’ve slept, it’s considered ‘fine’.
But it’s my passion that there is a life to be lived, even with dementia.
There is happiness to feel and there is laughter to be had, and we’ve created a wicked piece of technology that enables us to do that.
We’re now expanding the technology internationally, but also in the market for people with learning disabilities, end of life and rehabilitation because we’ve kind of stumbled across a piece of technology that changes the world.
Presumably, there are other companies using similar technologies for these purposes. What makes Social-Ability different?
We did not invent interactive lights. You’ve seen them in places like McDonalds, for example.
What we’ve done is develop a series of games that are the right level to help people with mid to late stage dementia engage.
Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves, and we make games a little bit more along the lines of what our developers might enjoy.
We actually go and test them in the environment of someone living with dementia, and we might find that they’re too stimulating, or too competitive, or you get lost in the game.
What makes us unique is that our games are actually appropriate for the people you’re trying to engage with. And two, the unlimited training, impact reports and in-person visits that we do.
The third thing we do is become a voice for what can be achieved.
I’m so passionate because I saw what happened to my dad. He was given antipsychotics when he went missing and ended up breaking his neck muscles.
It was horrific, because he wasn’t stimulated in the right way, because he didn’t have activity and because he just wasn’t happy. He’d become someone who just shuffled around the care home.
What’s the point in living if there’s no life and you’re just existing?
We’re trying to use our tech to help change the world for those people.
If you went into a nursery and the kids were medicated and asleep in a chair with a TV on, it would be a national scandal. So why is that acceptable for people just because they’re older or have cognitive challenges?
What challenges did you have to overcome in developing the tech?
One of the big things that I wanted to do was make sure that our technology was portable.
Our interactive projector comes on a stand, and you can move it very easily throughout your care home.
And it’s not just about projecting lights onto one surface downwards. You can turn it almost 360 degrees and project it onto the ceiling.
Now people in bed at the end of life living with dementia can look at images of their family on the ceiling, or they can watch their favourite team play football.
We’re all going to be in that bed one day. How would you like to say goodbye to the world?
One of the games we’ve got is a train ride. Often people will sit down and have lunch and experience that and think that they’ve been on the train.
I was in hospital for my appendix years ago and was institutionalised within a few days. I felt like my world went from everywhere to that hospital bed.
That’s how these guys live in care homes. They feel a bit lost, they don’t feel at home. They don’t know where they are.
If you can give them fifteen or 20 minutes of feeling like they’ve left that environment, that’s wonderful.
What kind of feedback have you had from the people who’ve been working with the technology and the families of people with dementia?
One of the great stories we often hear is that people will actually sit down for half an hour to play these games and will actually relax instead of panicking that they feel lost or don’t know where they are.
Now they’re engaged and smiling.
This means so much for their relationship with carers and family. I’d have given anything to sit down and see my dad smile and hold his hand.
Friends and families have told me so many times that they can finally connect with their loved one in a care home. It could be a husband of 50 years or a grandchild.
Little kids often get lost in a care home because it seems quite scary and people don’t talk to them in a manner that they’re familiar with. Now they’re able to play together, laugh and smile.
Tell us about the findings from your subscriber survey
Over 250 care homes responded to the survey, and the results are impressive: 98 per cent reported improvements in social well-being, 89 per cent in cognitive well-being, and 98 per cent in physical well-being.
These high numbers show that residents are more engaged physically, socially and cognitively compared to their usual state.
Not only do we have anecdotal emotional feedback, but we also have statistical data to support what we’re doing.
Also, I’m very passionate about the use of PRN medication because of my personal experience with my dad.
One in five care homes reported a reduction in antipsychotic medication use.
Instead of relying on medication to calm residents, which often has negative side effects, residents are channelling their frustration into activities like playing with bubbles.
Meanwhile, one in six care homes reported a reduction in falls because residents are no longer wandering aimlessly. Instead, they are sitting down and engaging in purposeful activities, reducing the risk of accidents.
What impact is this having on care homes?
I recently visited a care home near Surbiton called Thames View and spoke with the activities coordinator.
When you’re a resident, you might not even realise you have dementia, so you may not understand why someone in a uniform is coming in daily to wash and feed you.
This can be a very personal and unsettling experience.
I remember how uncomfortable it was when I was washed in the hospital—someone touching you and washing you because it’s their job.
The activities coordinator emphasised that carers need to build relationships and trust with residents through activities, which can help make these necessary tasks feel less intrusive.
It’s challenging for carers too, as they often feel like they’re encroaching on someone’s personal space, even though they’re just trying to keep them clean and healthy.
By using our activities as a way to bond, we’ve received feedback that this approach improves relationships between staff and residents.
This not only reduces anxiety and difficult behaviours but also enhances the overall well-being of both residents and staff.
What do you have coming up next?
We’re expanding our range of activities and take pride in ensuring they are culturally and seasonally relevant.
Our games change with the seasons, like those for Halloween and Christmas, which are just around the corner.
We also recently celebrated Diwali, Eid and Passover.
For the older generation, much of their memory is rooted in religion, so incorporating these themes can be very effective, alongside familiar elements like Irish folk songs or Elvis music.
We have several exciting projects in the pipeline, including research studies with the Alzheimer’s Society and Sport England.
We’re halfway through a six-month study focused on increasing physical activity.
Being associated with these well-known organisations is significant for us and shows that we’re on the right track.
On a personal note, one of the most fulfilling aspects of our work is pushing the idea that people living with dementia, learning disabilities or autism deserve an active and fun life.
They shouldn’t be tucked away and isolated. They should be brought forward into the community.
I want our technology to continue playing a small part in that and I’m committed to doubling down on these efforts.
