City Retail Centres in Gloucester awarded Certificate in Community Dementia Awareness

Colliers retail and leisure destinations in Gloucester, including the Eastgate Shopping Centre, King’s Walk, Kings Square and St Oswalds, recently took part in a charity partnership with both the Alzheimer’s Society and the NHS Managing Memory Together Team.

During Dementia Awareness Week (13^th to 19^th May), both the Eastgate Shopping Centre and King’s Walk hosted the Alzheimer’s Society, allowing the charity to spread awareness and educate members of the public on the condition and the support available.

Following on from this (between 26th June and 4th July), employees across the four sites, as well as City Protection Officers (CPOs) from Gloucester City Safe, Gloucestershire Constabulary and Kier Construction, undertook three dementia awareness training sessions aimed at championing inclusivity and support for individuals experiencing an ongoing decline of brain function. The completion of this training has led to the retail sites being awarded a Certificate in Community Dementia Awareness by One Gloucestershire.

The training encompassed many areas, including information on the different types of dementia, signs & symptoms, the impact of environmental factors/visual difficulties and the ways to approach and communicate with someone with dementia. The team also had the opportunity to wear vision impairment goggles to better understand the impact of dementia on senses, further ensuring the team are prepared to assist those with dementia in the best possible way and have a better understanding.

Jason Robinson, Senior Destination Manager for the four sites, expressed his delight that so many got involved with the training: “A few months back, we hosted the Gloucestershire Libraries Carousel of Stories exhibition within the Eastgate Shopping Centre, the theme of which was dementia, and there are occasionally instances where members of the public with dementia have wandered off in the city centre, so it was important for us to brush up on our awareness.

“The team were eager to get involved and it was fantastic that the training was supported by Gloucestershire Constabulary, Kier Construction and Gloucester City Safe – all of whom have a presence in the city centre and can be on hand to assist should the need arise.”

Steve Lindsay, Gloucester City Safe Manager, added: “This training was really useful for the CPOs as they do at times come into contact with people who have dementia, therefore this training will help them understand better how to deal with incidents as and where they occur in the city centre.”

Gloucester News Centre – http://gloucesternewscentre.co.uk