Earlier this month Merseylearn organised a Dementia Awareness course for Merseytravel staff in Liverpool.

The full day course was held in Merseytravel's offices in Liverpool city centre and 18 staff attended, including four Unison ULRs. The course was delivered by The Open University in partnership with Unison, whose Kickstart funding provided lunch for attendees.

Though in this case all those attending the course were Unison members, the training was open to all staff at Merseytravel.

Tony Norbury a Unison ULR attended the course explained:

Understanding the issues around dementia is important to organisations such as Merseytravel. Our customer facing staff undergo a range of training to equip them with the skills and knowledge required to support the travelling public. With more than 800,000 people in the UK diagnosed with dementia and 225,000 people developing dementia each year, our staff will increasingly come into contact with people with dementia. 

It is not just Merseytravel staff we support but also the wider transport sector. We are keen to support front line transport staff working on buses, taxis, the railways, John Lennon airport and visitor attractions gain a better understanding of all issues affecting their customers. A better understanding of how to support people affected by dementia will help everyone."

Merseylearn project worker and Unison ULR, Norman Hunter concluded:

Alongside supporting our customers we are also aware that with an increasingly aging workforce, some of our staff may develop the early stages of dementia whilst still working, and of course some will be carers for family members with dementia. That’s why it’s important to have a range of staff on today’s training, this includes 4 of our ULR’s who will help spread a better understanding of dementia."