Commitment to create Dementia Friends in our High Streets

Today a commitment has been made from major British businesses Argos, Home base, Marks and Spencer, Lloyds Banking Group and Lloyds Pharmacy to create over 190,000 Dementia Friends in shops and banks across the UK.

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

Dementia Friends, is an Alzheimer's Society initiative that will help staff learn about dementia and the steps they can take to make a difference to the lives of people with the condition.

From being more patient with a customer paying at a till point to communicating more clearly over the telephone there are many ways in which becoming a dementia friend will help staff interact with people with dementia.

Alzheimer's Society is now calling on other businesses to work to become more dementia friendly by offering Dementia Friends sessions to their staff.

Jeremy Hughes, chief executive at Alzheimer's Society 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, Home base, Marks and Spencer and Lloyds Banking Group on their commitment to help their staff 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 Home base, Argos, Marks and Spencer, and Lloyds Banking Group."

Terry Duddy, chief executive of Home Retail Group which owns Argos and Home base says: "Argos and Home base have shown real passion in driving forward change for people with dementia. We are offering all of our 50,000 colleagues the opportunity to become Dementia Friends. Already over 250 colleagues have taken part in the programme. Colleagues say this has made a real difference to them personally and that they will be in a better position to understand customers and their carers who have been affected by dementia."

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"

Graham Lindsay, director, Responsible Business at Lloyds Banking Group said: "We are committed to helping people affected by dementia across the UK. Alongside Alzheimer's Society, we've led the development of a charter to help the financial services industry become more dementia-friendly. Our next step is to continue our important work in the fight against dementia and sign up at least 11,500 customer facing Dementia Friends across our business."

If you're interested in creating Dementia Friends in your workplace, contact Dementia Friends or call 0207 264 5991. Dementia Friends