Businesses agree deal for 'dementia friendly' high streets

South West High streets are set to become ‘dementia friendly’ as several major retailers commit to offering their staff training to help those with the condition.

The initiative launched by the Alzhiemer’s society will see staff at 60 Homebase and Argos stores as well as some branches of Marks and Spencer and Lloyds bank train to become ‘Dementia Friends’ who help people with dementia live more independently.

Between them, they have committed to create over 121,500 Dementia Friends in shops and banks across the UK.

Angie Newing, Regional Director for Alzheimer’s Society in the South West, said: “Many people with dementia tell us that shopping and visiting their local high street can be very stressful but today’s announcement brings us a step closer to becoming a dementia friendly society.

“We applaud Argos, Homebase, Marks and Spencer and Lloyds Banking Group on their commitment to help their staff in the South West understand more about dementia.

“Dementia Friends will enable people with dementia to feel more independent when they go out. Sometimes this can mean the difference between staying in the community or being forced to move to a care home prematurely. We are now calling on other businesses to follow the lead of Homebase, Argos, Marks and Spencer, and Lloyds Banking Group.”

Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease or a series of strokes. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia but not all dementia is due to Alzheimer’s.

The specific symptoms that someone with dementia experiences will depend on the parts of the brain that are damaged and the disease that is causing the dementia but typical symptoms include loss of memory and orientation.

This can make simple outings such as shopping trips very difficult to accomplish as suffers may become lost or confused.

A recent study by Alzheimer’s Society found that one in four people with dementia have given up shopping completely since being diagnosed, even though the majority felt that this is the most common activity that enables them to feel part of their community.

Terry Duddy, CEO of Home Retail Group which owns Argos and Homebase says: “We want to help people living with dementia stay in their own homes and be part of their local community for longer. We hope that by offering Dementia Friends on hand to help with shopping in our stores, they will be able to do just that.”

Sacha Berendji, Marks & Spencer Retail Director, said: “When we heard that a quarter of all people with dementia feel that they can no longer go shopping, despite it being the local activity that they enjoy most, we knew that M&S had to play a part in changing this for the better. We want our stores to be friendly, safe environments for customers with dementia. That’s why we will be empowering all 60,000 of our store colleagues to become Dementia Friends over the course of the year.”

Graham Lindsay, Director, Responsible Business at Lloyds Banking Group said: “As part of our ambition to help Britain prosper, we are committed to helping people affected by dementia to live well with the condition.

“Alongside Alzheimer’s Society, we’ve led the development of a charter to help the financial services industry become more dementia-friendly. Our charity of the year partnership has captured the hearts and minds of our colleagues, who have raised over £2.5million in just over a year.

“To continue our work in the fight against dementia, our goal is to sign up at least 11,500 Dementia Friends across our business.”

This commitment has been nationally as well as locally and will see some 190,000 Dementia Friends trained in shops and banks across the UK.