Bank will offer customers with dementia financial support through helpline
The Nationwide is offering a dedicated phone service to customers with a mental illness or dementia.The aim of the helpline is that it will provide extra financial support for those affected by a range of illnesses, including dementia.Those manning the line will have the power to waive late payment fees, extend overdrafts and offer mortgage repayment holidays to callers.The service first started as a helpline specifically for people affected by cancer, and was launched in October last year. Helpline operators were trained by the charity Macmillan.However, the service proved so successful that it was extended to those with heart problems and motor neuron disease this year.Since it launched, 1,300 customers have used the special helpline.Of those, 271 were referred to Macmillan’s financial advisers for further help and received £170,000 in benefits they hadn’t previously known about.Now Nationwide aims to extend it further so that by January 2017 it will be able to help those affected by depression, dementia and Parkinson’s disease with any financial queries, while having an understanding of the challenges they may face when it comes to managing finances or talking on the phone.Hopefully, the helpline operators will then be able to pass on customers to the relevant dementia charities or websites to provide them with information and services.Once again, we feel this is a very encouraging step in the right direction for the UK becoming a more dementia-friendly society.Source: www.thisismoney.co.uk
Our Resources by Our Experts
Want to learn more about all things care industry? Check out our blog!
Tablet computers can reduce agitation in people living with demntia
Using a tablet is an effective tool for delivering therapy which can reduce agitation in people with dementia, says a US study
Helpful INGREDIENTS for a home visit
The more time you spend with someone, the more you will know what ingredients make for unhurried, quality time together. What ingredients do you find helpful? Charlotte Overton-Hart writes for Unforgettable.
David Baddiel charity gala to raise money for dementia charities
The comedian will perform his show, My Family: Not The Sitcom, which covers the topic of his father’s Pick’s disease, to raise money for the Unforgettable Foundation
Why dementia is NOT a ‘fight’ (and you don’t have to be brave)
Public awareness of dementia may be growing rapidly, but Kate Corr believes the language we use to describe it often seems to lag behind