The below step-by-step process will allow organisations to register themselves so the pharmacy teams can become Dementia Friends. Many pharmacy staff including locums may already be Dementia Friends so there is no need to go through the following process again.   

Register your organisation

  • Visit the Dementia Friends website.
  • Click on the ‘register your organisation’ button found in the boxes on the page, follow the instructions online.
  • Please note: If you are a group/multiple pharmacy, you may experience errors when registering your pharmacy name. It is recommended that you use your locality or a postcode in the name e.g Numark Pharmacy Tamworth or Numark Pharmacy B77.

Access your dashboard

  • Once registered, Dementia Friends will send an email containing a unique code within one week, which will allow you and your pharmacy team to access a unique dashboard for your pharmacy. Please note: be sure to check the email hasn’t been placed into the junk inbox.
  • The Dementia Friends dashboard will allow you to access the online Dementia Friends videos which demonstrate excellent examples of how someone in a patient facing role could help a person who may be living with dementia.

Acessing the videos

  • Once you have your unique code, you will be able to access the videos online.
  • Click on 'What is Dementia?' tab and then clicking on 'Watch our video's for organisations (select from the menu on the left hand side of the screen).

You will be asked to enter the following details:

  • Your unique code (this code can be distributed to all team members so they can watch the videos at different times).
  • The number of people who are going to watch the videos.
  • The postcode of where you are watching the videos.
  • The names of those watching the videos.

Which videos should I watch? 

  • Pharmacy teams should watch the introductory video ‘Understanding Dementia’ which lasts around six and a half minutes, and at least one other video to become a Dementia Friend
  • If you wish to watch all the videos this could take around half an hour, so it may be a good idea to watch these as a group.
Action once everyone in the pharmacy has watched the videos?

Once the videos have been watched, email programmepartnerships@alzheimers.org.uk to receive your badges and action cards and include the following information:

  • Quote the unique code you have been provided with
  • The total number of people in the pharmacy who watched the videos.
  • Your name
  • The address and total amount of badges to be sent
  • Please note: Dementia Friends will send out the total amount of badges per pharmacy and not per person (ie 14 badges for 14 employees) to save postage.
What do we need to do once we have recieved our badges/action cards?
  • Once the pharmacy team have become Dementia Friends, Alzheimer’s Society would like to how pharmacy teams will turn their understanding into a practical action (please note this is not a requirement for the quality criterion)
  • There is no requirement to commit to something time consuming
  • An example could be the pharmacy team wearing their Dementia Friends badges and signing up to Alzheimer’s society’s campaigns
  • Alzheimer’s society asks pharmacy teams to fill in their action cards and send them back (postage is paid for).
 Providing evidence that you are Dementia Friends
  • Pharmacy contractors will not receive certificate or letter for staff becoming Dementia Friends.
  • It is therefore suggested pharmacy team members also complete the record sheet to record the staff members and temporary staff such as locums that have become Dementia Friends. If a member of staff has already taken steps to become a Dementia Friend on their own, it is suggested the record sheet is updated with their details,
  • A copy of the email you sent to programmepartnerships@alzheimers.org.uk could be retained to show NHS England & NHS Improvement, if required.

 Dementia Friends has produced a FAQ’s document to assist pharmacy team members with any issues which may arise.

See our guidnace for Individuals becoming a Dementia Friend

See our top tips for suggestions to create a dementia friendly environment