DETAILS on how to plan ahead and keep people with dementia or Alzheimer’s safe from going missing has been shared by Droitwich Spa Town Council as part of police guidance.
The town council shared details of the Herbert Protocol which helps carers, family or friends of a vulnerable person provide important information to police in the event someone goes missing.
The Herbert Protocol is a form which can be filled out with information relating to a person’s medication, emergency contacts, previously visited locations, a recent photograph, and other key details.
There’s a risk a person with dementia or Alzheimer’s can start to ‘walk about’ which has prompted West Mercia Police and Droitwich Spa Town Council to share the advice.
The scheme is named after George Herbert, a war veteran of the Normandy landings, who lived with dementia. He died whilst ‘missing’, trying to find his childhood home.
Once the form has been completed, it can kept to be given to the police in the event a person is reported missing. Police require paper copies but the form can be completed electronically.
In the event a vulnerable person goes missing, contact the police using 999 and inform them you have the Herbert Protocol profile available.
The sooner the police know someone is missing, the sooner officers can start looking for them. The force will ask a few simple questions about when the person was last seen and what they were wearing for example.
The form can then aid in their search.
Visit www.westmercia.police.uk/notices/af/herbert-protocol/ for more information and to complete the form.
Visit www.alzheimers.org.uk/ and www.dementiauk.org/ for more information and support on dementia and Alzheimer’s.
