Marlborough Chamber of Commerce has announced its ambition to make the town dementia-friendly. Proposals were outlined at the AGM (June 26), where financial adviser Dave Jones was invested as president.
At the AGM business leaders heard from Sally Rhodes, manager of home care agency Innovations Wiltshire, a specialist in dementia care.
The Chamber is supporting calls for staff who have contact with the public at every Marlborough business – including shops and offices – to attend a short training session in dementia: what it is, how to recognise it, and how to adapt to the needs of customers with age-related memory loss.
Sally Rhodes told the meeting that achieving dementia-friendly town status is really just about creating a kinder community: “If a customer can’t remember why they came to your business premises, is fumbling for change, or is generally showing signs of confusion, it is important to remain calm and show patience.”
Free courses are delivered by qualified experts in the condition. They can be delivered on premises to between two and 50 people, and last between 20 and 30 minutes.
Anyone interested in booking a free dementia-friendly session for their workplace can contact the Chamber at hello@marlboroughchamber.co.uk
The meeting started with the appointment of a new president. Dave Jones of Chilvester Financial accepted the chain of office from outgoing president Alex Minoudis of wealth managers Brewin Dolphin.
Dave Jones, who lives in Swindon with his wife and three children, has been with Chilvester for two-and-a-half years, and a Chamber member for around the same time.
Before becoming a financial adviser he worked in banking, and was the manager of TSB in Swindon’s Commercial Road during its spin-out from Lloyds.
He put himself through his diploma to become a financial adviser, and is currently working towards his advanced diploma, which will see him achieve chartered status.
During the meeting, Dave outlined the programme of events for the year, which included the continuation of the popular networking breakfasts, run in conjunction with law firm Royds Withy King, new quarterly business lunches and evening events, and a series of quarterly skills workshops.
For more information about Chamber activities and membership, visit www.marlboroughchamber.co.uk