Dementia Support, The Herbert Protocol by Cambridgeshire Constabulary
It’s 4.58am, but your phone pings with a notification from a video doorbell. Not your own, but one you set up at your elderly relative’s house to help keep them safe
You see that relative, who has dementia, leave the house in her dressing gown but with her handbag.
You call us for help, and you’re also on your way to her home with other worried relatives. Officers aren’t far behind and arrive at the scene six minutes after your call was made
Family members could pinpoint the woman’s location thanks to her having her phone with her, and officers found her just eight minutes later – and only 14 minutes after the 999 call.
The woman, in her 80s, was reunited with her family and taken home to safety in Peterborough. Her loved ones had already put lots of great safeguarding measures in place for her, but they hadn’t heard of the Herbert Protocol.
Have you? It’s a scheme we support that encourages family and friends to fill out a form that collates key pieces of info about their loved one living with dementia – such as a physical description, familiar places, health details and a recent photo.
Our Herbert Protocol form can be filled out online via our website here https://orlo.uk/Herbert-Protocol_6licv where you can also register your interest for one of our new smart wristbands.
The smart wristband store the name and contact details of a wearer’s next of kin so that if someone gets lost, members of the public can quickly access contact details and reunite them – often taking away the need to call police.
