We’re working in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society to become a truly dementia-friendly bank because we know that, with the right support, it’s possible to live well with dementia.
Our staff, branches and contact centres are more dementia-friendly
In 2019, Alzheimer’s Society looked at some of our branches and contact centres to advise us on giving better help to customers affected by dementia. Since then, we’ve been putting their ideas into action. We’ve:
- trained staff
- created more dementia-friendly products
- made branches more dementia friendly and
- improved internal policies.
We also wanted to make sure that our staff had a thorough understanding of what dementia is and how it might affect our customers. So now more than half of our staff (over 11,500 people) have become ‘Dementia Friends’ through an Alzheimer's Society programme raising awareness about dementia. This includes people in our head offices as well as customer-facing roles in branches and call centres. They now have the tools to offer help and raise awareness about dementia.
On top of this around 130 of our staff are trained as ‘Dementia Ambassadors’ across each branch region and contact centre. They’ve received specialist training and now act as key points of contact across the business for both customers and colleagues affected by dementia.
Santander dementia steering group
To direct our dementia-friendly initiatives, we created the Santander Dementia Steering Group, a panel made up of people with dementia and carers, who look at our products and services with dementia in mind.
Our dementia guide
We know that there's a lot of information out there and sometimes it’s hard to know where to look. To help out, we’ve worked with Alzheimer’s Society to develop a practical dementia guide which explains how we can help people affected by dementia, both customers and colleagues. In particular the guide can help you learn about our supported banking options, Power of Attorney and our Carers Card
Help from Alzheimer’s Society
Alzheimer’s Society supports people affected by dementia including family members and carers in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. You’ll find the knowledge, understanding and information you need around the clock, no matter what you’re going through.
- Call their Dementia Connect support line on 0333 150 3456. Phone support is available 7 days a week. (A Welsh-speaking support line is available on 0330 094 7400).
- Find a wealth of information on their website
- Join their online community where you can connect with others in a similar situation
Supported banking for you or yours
For more information about our products and services that could help if you, or someone you know is affected by dementia, take a look at our supported banking pages.