Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) are there to ensure the regular supply of electricity to millions of people in the UK. SSEN also work hard to help support vulnerable people during power outage and power cuts.
A number of SSEN staff recently underwent the Training 2 Care - Virtual Dementia Tour to help them get a better understanding of their customers who suffer from the condition. The video below shows the feedback from two of the managers at SSEN as well as from Glenn Knight, managing director of Training 2 Care.
After taking the tour we spoke to Julie Walker, the Social Obligations Manager for Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks. She explained that they had undertaken the Virtual Dementia Tour as she wanted to make sure that they were "Doing the right thing for those that did not cope well during a power cut". and added that she "Wanted to make sure that their [SSEN] services were accessible now and in the future"
When we asked Julie why she had had chosen the Virtual Dementia Tour for the SSEM staff and what she hoped that they would get from the experience:
"Putting our staff on the Dementia Bus is allowing them to understand what it's like for people living with dementia as well as learning valuable tools and how to communitcate with those customers living with dementia."
We also spoke with Louise Jones, Customer Experience Manager for SSEN who said she had really enjoyed the tour and "learned a lot", before adding:
"I didn't understand how someone in that situation could be feeling"
Giving a summary of the staff's experience with the Virtual Dementia Tour, Julie Walker concluded:
"Putting our staff on the Dementia Bus is not only going to raise their awareness of dementia...It will also help them to communicate with these customers a lot better"
We want to thank the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks team for taking part in the Dementia Experience Tour. You can find out more about the Virtual Dementia Tour in the courses section of our website and book the experience online.