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Isle Of Wight Bus Operator Now 'Dementia Friends' For Action Week

The Island's bus operator is tailoring its training to specifically meet the needs of those living with dementia.

This Dementia Action Week, the Island's bus operator is marking it by driving forward its commitment to making local bus services more accessible.

It is also ensuring the new buses have light-coloured floors because darker spaces are often feared by those living with dementia.

Southern Vectis is working with Dementia Friends - an Alzheimer’s Society initiative - to ensure training meets the needs of those living with the condition.

Bus services across the Isle of Wight provide a vital lifeline for many of those living within the local community - giving them access to a wide variety of shops, health services and other amenities. 

southern vectis

Southern Vectis head of communications, Nikki Honer, said:

“People living with dementia, in particular, rely on our services in order to carry out their everyday activities - but we know they have special requirements when travelling with us.

“Dementia Action Week is an excellent time to announce that 209 of our drivers are now ‘dementia friends’.

“They are fully aware of the special requirements, and can help to make their journeys comfortable and stress-free. In order to achieve this, we added a specific dementia-friendly aspect to our Customer Promise course, which all our drivers have now completed.

“It was so successful that we have also added it to our starter programme. This means any new members of our team will become dementia friends as part of their trainee tool kit. It is about ensuring all our customers receive excellent service, no matter what they are having to deal with elsewhere. 

“As we come out of lockdown, we know more and more people will return to travelling across the region by bus. We hope our dementia friendly ethos will help ensure our services on the island are accessible to all."

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