Armchair travel to many countries

Bupa Parkstone Retirement Village

Virtual reality technology has allowed residents to see the world from their armchairs.

A group of residents in Bupa Hugh Green Care Home were amazed by an immersive experience recently, donning headsets for a virtual reality tour of Egypt, India, Italy and Croatia.

The virtual travel tour is in HD, 4K and is part of a technology trial for the care home. The care home activity team talking the residents through the accompanying narrative.

The technology is from SilVR, specialising in education using virtual reality through 360º photos, sound and videos. The headset can provide a vast library selection of locations and interests to choose from.

Residents were guided through Cairo’s Great Sphinx of Giza, the Hawa Mahal Jaiur in India, and the Colosseum in Rome, Italy.

General Manager , Ian Dunthorne says the technology initiative has become popular worldwide with care homes due to lockdowns restricting travel.

“Our residents, with and without cognitive impairment, have found this to be an amazing journey. Reminiscing of their own past travel trips can trigger conversation during and after the VR as a shared experience or on their own.”

After the session, specialty cups of tea were shared from countries the residents had visited. This capped off their virtual reality travel trip from the comfort of their care home lounge.