THE West Brom Building Society has partnered with Alzheimer’s UK to deliver awareness sessions through their ‘Champions’ to management colleagues in Solihull, and each branch now has a member of staff accredited as ‘dementia friendly’.
Colleagues at the West Brom branches in Knowle and Shirley, undertook the virtual awareness session provided by a trained volunteer Dementia Friends Champion from the Alzheimer’s Society to become a Dementia Friend.
The Dementia Friends programme is the UK’s largest education initiative to transform people’s awareness, insight and attitude about dementia. The campaign aims to alter people’s perception of dementia and change the approach to this condition.
The UK currently has around 850,000 people diagnosed with Dementia and it is estimated one in six people over the age of 80 have the condition.
This number is projected to rise increasingly as the years go on, with no cure for Alzheimer’s disease or any other type of dementia, delaying the onset of dementia would halve the number of deaths.
Raising awareness and funding is become increasingly important to help further research and potentially a cure.
Jagdeep Brar, manager at the West Brom’s Knowle branch, said: “It is vital to help people living with dementia to feel understood, valued, and able to carry out their business confidently in a safe environment.
The awareness session provided by Alzheimer’s Society is tremendously useful in this and ensures we give individuals with dementia the positive respect and dignity they deserve.
“The campaign helps us understand the ways dementia affects those living with it, from the impact on long-term memory to difficulties with balance, language, vision, as well as moods and motivation.
“Through such awareness, we can improve our service to them here in West Brom, which is why I am proud to be part of this superb and timely initiative.”
