Dementia Action Awareness Week: Specsavers in Hemel Hempstead gives staff Alzheimer’s training sessions

Specsavers in Hemel Hempstead has completed its awareness sessions for staff to better understand the needs of people living with dementia.

The opticians and audiologists based in the Marlowes Shopping Centre has carried out training as part of the Dementia Friends programme, an initiative from the Alzheimer’s Society.

Optical apprentice, Nellie Williams is now a recognised Dementia Friend and will wear a badge to show her level of dementia awareness to customers.

The training helps staff to understand the needs of people who have dementia and how their senses can be affected.

Specsavers Hemel Hempstead’s general manager, Louise England said: ‘Being more aware of dementia is an incredibly positive development for our colleagues and our offering to customers in Hemel.

Louise continued: ’By becoming a Dementia Friend, Nellie and our team feel more confident to ensure any customers living with dementia feel safe and are looked after in a sensitive way.”

Morven Lean, senior strategic change manager at Alzheimer’s Society said: ‘It’s fantastic to see Specsavers Hemel Hempstead take this first step to becoming a dementia-friendly business by inviting its staff to join over 3.4 million Dementia Friends in the UK today.”

She added: “As we have come out of lockdown, more people are heading to the shops, and it’s vital that businesses are dementia-friendly and provide a well-informed service and support for customers with dementia.”

There are 850,000 people in the UK with dementia and this is set to rise to one million by 2025.