Power NI staff become Dementia Friendly

Ballymena natives Rachelle Lowry and Jamie Shiels, along with seven other Power NI/ Energia employees recently completed an intensive three-day training programme facilitated by Alzheimer’s Society and are now able to deliver a two-hour workshop to colleagues across the organisation. The workshop will highlight how small changes can make a significant difference to the lives of people living with dementia and at the end staff will be qualified as Dementia Friends.

There are 22,000 people living with dementia across Northern Ireland and Power NI has also been working in consultation with the Alzheimer’s Society’s ‘Focus on Dementia’ group in Belfast, to gain valuable insights from people living with dementia and to help Power NI to shape their website and online resources so that they are more accessible for everyone.

Simple yet impactful changes can make a significant difference.

William Steele, Director of Customer Solutions at Power NI commented: “We are grateful to Alzheimer’s Society for helping to educate us and improve our awareness of the impact of dementia and how to help people affected by the condition. We care about our customers and want to make sure our staff are well equipped to support their needs, and as well as working to become Dementia Friendly, we are JAM Card Friendly, and recently successfully achieved BS18477 which is a British Standard for Inclusive Service Provision. Furthermore, we are keen to also support our staff when they are talking to someone who has been bereaved.”