1. The National Dementia Declaration lists seven outcomes that the DAA are seeking to achieve for people with dementia and their carers. How would you describe your organisation’s role in delivering better outcomes for people with dementia and their carers?

Our purpose at Santander is to help people and communities prosper. Our key values are to be Simple, Personal and Fair for both it's customers and employees. Santander is keen to create value for our communities, supporting the local community as well as supporting our new and existing customers.

Whilst Santander employees complete interactive training on an annual basis, at a local level we are looking to take further action to support those with Dementia with Dementia Friends sessions for our staff to  maintain our awareness.

Having a better understanding  and awareness we can offer alternative solutions for people living with dementia e.g Chip and Signature cards to support them, as well as being able to consider more safeguarding issues.

2. What are the challenges to delivering these outcomes from the perspective of your organisation?

It is important that all staff receive awareness training, which can be a challenge due to resourcing and time available, and it is important that new starters are not forgotten in the process, and that existing staff knowledge is not allowed to fade.

When dealing with vulnerable customers we must also ensure that we remaining compliant with our internal procedures and with the FCA/DPA regulations.

Time is also a difficult factor, as we work in a busy branch environment, we must make sure that we remain vigilant to our customer’s needs regardless of how busy we are.

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