“We need to be inclusive and supportive towards those suffering with dementia, understand the challenges they may face and how we can maximise their enjoyment and wellbeing”
– Jane Harvey, Visitor Engagement Manager, The Donkey Sanctuary
Free dementia awareness training
If you are a business owner in Sidmouth who cares about your customers, this page is for you.
We offer customer facing businesses in the Sid Valley free online training to upskill your staff and become a ‘dementia friendly’ business.
The Alzheimer’s Society UK accredited training – a one-hour module – is an achievement you can proudly share with your customers.
We will award you with a sign you can display in your shop window and publicise your business across our digital networks. You will also be listed with the Sidmouth Tourist Information Centre as a dementia friendly business. And, upon completing the training you will be given a discount if you choose to complete more advanced training.
Dementia Friendly
Simply put, being ‘dementia friendly’ means you have enhanced awareness and consideration for people living with dementia and have taken steps to support them.
Economic benefits
More than four in five people with dementia have switched their shopping habits to places that are more ‘accessible’, according to Alzheimer’s UK research in 2018.
And, according to the Centre for Economic and Business Research in 2014, around a quarter of people with dementia surveyed reported having ‘given up shopping’.
These are statistics which we have a moral obligation to change, but there are also economic benefits to looking after your customers with dementia too:
• Competitive advantage – you will retain existing customers and attract new ones.
• Increased customer satisfaction – increased knowledge and awareness will make staff more confident in dealing with all types of customers.
• Enhanced brand reputation – by demonstrating that you are socially responsible and value your customers.
• Increased revenue – in 2020 the ‘dementia pound’ was worth £22 billion in the UK; so welcoming people living with dementia into your business will increase your revenue.
• Future proofing your business – by making changes now, you will be anticipating a growing need as the number of people living with dementia in the UK is rising.
Dementia Friendly Sidmouth recognition
If your organisation has already received dementia awareness training and your staff are sufficiently aware and skilled in identifying customers with dementia and serving their needs well, you can complete a simple, ‘How we are a dementia friendly organisation’ form.
Following a visit to your business, Dementia Friendly Sidmouth will award you with a sign to display in your shop window and promote your organisation via our digital channels.
For more information and to request the training module email, anne@dementiafriendlysidmouth.org.uk
Become more dementia friendly
1. Download Alzheimer’s UK’s Dementia Friendly Business Guide for small ways to support your customers, https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-involved/dementia-friendly-communities/making-organisations-dementia-friendly/businesses
2. Learn about the effects and symptoms of dementia so you can recognise it in your customers.
3. Provide clear signage, also a quiet space if you’re a hospitality venue; this will be appreciated by all customers.