A NUMBER of groups and societies from across York have been awarded certificates for being “dementia friendly”.

Silver Song Box, a group providing entertainment and music in care homes; York Railway Station – Eastcoast; York Hospital; City of York Housing Services; Home Instead Senior Care, and York Railway British Transport Police (BTP) Chaplaincy service all got their Dementia Without Walls certificates at New Earswick Folk Hall yesterday.

York Railway Station is the first in the country to get the award and received it after about 50 staff went through special education sessions run by charity Dementia Forward.

The station also has BTP staff based there, who have had the project’s dementia education.

The station chaplain, the Rev Stephen Sorby, said he was thrilled to see the staff learn more about how to help people with dementia by giving them extra time at ticket offices, offering help to those who need it, and arranging a safe, quiet area where people who have become confused can go.

The project has already seen many shops and cafés signing up for the dementia education, including Fenwick’s department store and Specsavers opticians.

Dementia Forward’s chief executive, Jill Quinn, said it wanted more organisations to sign up for the scheme, which helps people with dementia feel more confident about getting out and about, and fights the social isolation many face.