Nationwide – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Nationwide to host free face-to-face clinics for families affected by dementia in Scotland

Dementia specialist Admiral Nurses will host clinics at Nationwide’s Edinburgh and Inverness branches to offer tailored support and guidance to anyone affected by the condition

Nationwide and Dementia UK are bringing free face-to-face specialist dementia care to Scotland.

The clinics will be hosted by Dementia UK’s Admiral Nurses in Nationwide’s Edinburgh and Inverness branches to support anyone impacted by dementia, offering life-changing support to families and individuals living with dementia in the area.

Support includes practical and emotional advice on all aspects of dementia – from worries about memory problems and understanding a diagnosis and how the condition can progress to help with financial and legal issues.

Appointments can be booked via Dementia UK’s website here.

Nationwide branches offer a safe, comfortable and private space for families to discuss any aspect of dementia, which aims to help 100,000 people affected by dementia.

As part of the partnership, Nationwide will host 200 pop-up clinics in branches around the UK, and the building society and fund 30 dementia specialist Admiral Nurse posts through Dementia UK.

The clinics form part of Nationwide’s new social impact programme, Fairer Futures, which addresses three of the UK’s biggest social issues through charity partnerships – dementia (Dementia UK), youth homelessness (Centrepoint) and family poverty (Action for Children).

Latest research from Nationwide found that:

One of the main asks of banks and building societies by dementia carers was for a dementia-friendly environment in branches (48%).  
Over four in ten (43%) wanted help to better understand care costs and options.
Nearly six in ten (59%) of those caring for someone with dementia were concerned about the impact the disease would have on their finances. 
50% of dementia carers are worried by the cost of residential care, with older people (55+) being the most concerned about this. 49% are worried about other costs, such as costs at home.

Sarah Priestley, Admiral Nurse at Dementia UK, said: “We’re looking forward to bringing specialist face-to-face support for people affected by dementia to Edinburgh and Inverness. By partnering with Nationwide, we are able to provide a safe space in towns across the county to ensure our Admiral Nurses are able to reach as many people affected by the condition as possible.

“Dementia is a huge and growing health crisis – someone in the UK develops dementia every three minutes and the condition is the leading cause of death in England and Wales.

“It’s more important than ever that we reach families and individuals affected by dementia and offer one-on-one support from our dementia specialist Admiral Nurses.”

Debbie Crosbie, Chief Executive Officer of Nationwide, said: “Nationwide wants to help people live their best life possible, for as long as possible.

“By working with Dementia UK to fund more Admiral Nurses and turning our branches into dementia clinics, we’re helping to tackle the country’s leading cause of death.

“As a mutual, we work for the good of society as well as our members.  We believe this and Nationwide Fairer Futures will change hundreds of thousands of lives for the better.” 

To book a confidential and in-person appointment with an Admiral Nurse, visit www.dementiauk.org/nationwide.

The pop-up clinics will visit:

Edinburgh, 17 South St Andrew Street EH2 2AU – 15th, 16th and 17th October
Inverness, 16 Eastgate Street IV2 3NA – 29th, 30th and 31st October

Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP sees community in action in Corstorphine

Scottish Lib Dem leader sees value of a local branch to prevent fraud and scams and build financial confidence
Corstorphine branch supports charities including their upstairs neighbours at Dean and Cauvin Young People’s Trust
Long-serving colleague’s retirement marked with gifts from local community

Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, visited the Nationwide branch in Corstorphine to learn more about how important the branch is to its local community.

The MSP toured the branch and learned more about what branches do to tackle fraud and scams. Fraud has become more sophisticated, and branch staff often act as a last line of defence. In recent times Corstorphine branch staff have noticed spikes in attempted WhatsApp scams and cowboy tradespeople.

Nationwide has promised that everywhere it has a branch, it will still be there until at least 2026 – making sure that face-to-face service stays available on the high street. This policy has led to Nationwide becoming the biggest banking brand network on the high street, with more branches than any other provider across the UK.

Corstorphine’s branch supports a range of charities by acting as a collection point for the Kids Love Clothes clothing bank and with staff from the branch volunteering for Dean and Cauvin Young People’s Trust, which is located above the branch.

Nationwide offers all its staff two days a year of paid volunteering time, and in 2023 donated over £50,000 to the charity to support young people aged 16-26 who are in or leaving care.

Mr Cole-Hamilton also saw the Safe Space in the branch for people facing abuse, which forms part of an initiative Nationwide has introduced in over 400 branches across the UK. Branch staff at Corstorphine are able to offer a private space for someone to call friends, family, support charities or the police.

Customer representative, Lorraine Mudie, has worked for Nationwide for 42 years and met Mr. Cole-Hamilton a week before her retirement.

She said: “It was such an honour to welcome Alex Cole-Hamilton to our branch. I’m glad to be able to show how important the branch is to our local community here in Corstorphine.

“Some of our customers heard I was retiring and have been bringing in gifts and cards just to say thank you and goodbye – which I find really touching.”

Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said: “At a time when most other banks are closing branches everywhere, it’s refreshing that Nationwide have decided to stick by their communities in this way.

“I know many of my constituents will be delighted to have the reassurance that their local branch will remain open.”

Safe as houses: Which? annual mortgage survey reveals best and worst mortgage lenders

First Direct and Nationwide have come out on top in Which?’s annual mortgage lender survey, with both named Which? Recommended Providers (WRPs) for offering a combination of excellent customer service and consistently competitive rates.

With speculation that interest rate rises could be on the way, it is more important than ever that prospective homeowners and remortgagers do their research and find the right deal and provider.

The consumer champion surveyed more than 3,500 homeowners and analysed thousands of mortgage deals to find which providers offered impressive customer service and the best rates.

Lenders were scored on multiple aspects of customer service, including: keeping customers informed, clarity of mortgage statements, transparency of charges or penalties, dealing with queries and complaints, flexibility of payments, online access and value for money.

First Direct came out on top, receiving an impressive customer score of 81 per cent. Its customers gave it five stars across the board, and the lender consistently offered some of the cheapest deals on the market.

Nationwide earned an overall customer score of 77 per cent and was also named a WRP for the eighth year in a row. The building society achieved five-star ratings for value for money and clarity of its mortgage statements.

Coventry Building Society received the joint-top score of 81 per cent, achieving five stars for customer service, clarity of mortgage statements and keeping you well informed, among others. However, it missed out on becoming a WRP because it did not offer enough market-leading deals.

Royal Bank of Scotland received the lowest score in this year’s survey, with an overall customer score of 64 per cent. RBS received three stars for its general customer service, flexibility of payments and online access, among other criteria.

While nearly nine in 10 (87%) respondents told the consumer champion that they were satisfied with their mortgage provider, a quarter (24%) said they had had a problem with their lender. The most commonly cited issues included poor customer service, a lack of flexibility on payments and poor interest rates.

When asked why they chose a lender, around one in five (21%) respondents said the size of monthly repayments was important, while the same number said the overall cost of the deal was key. One in six (16%) respondents said an existing relationship with the lender (for example, having a bank account with the provider) was a key factor.

Seven in 10 (72%) of survey respondents had a capital remortgage payment plan. However one fifth (20%) had interest-only mortgages. While the majority of respondents with interest-only mortgages had a plan for repayment at the end of the term, worryingly 9 per cent said they did not know how they would repay their loan – meaning they could be forced to sell their home at the end of the term to repay the balance.

Gareth Shaw, Head of Which? Money, said: “Buying a house is the most expensive purchase most of us will make in our lifetime, so finding a mortgage deal that’s right for you is essential – especially when the outlook for interest rates in the year ahead is uncertain.

“Recently, we’ve seen reputable lenders offering record-breaking low rates, meaning it’s possible to find a deal that combines value for money with great customer service. As ever, doing a bit of research and talking to a whole-of-market broker before committing is likely to pay off.”

Local housing causes to benefit from £500,000 as Nationwide opens grant application process

Local charitable organisations have new opportunity to benefit from grants of up to £50,000
Grants available to tackle housing issues in local communities
Application process now open

Local community housing projects and charities are being urged to put their case forward as Nationwide, the world’s largest building society, makes £500,000 available to help make a difference to communities across the region. Continue reading Local housing causes to benefit from £500,000 as Nationwide opens grant application process