The story of one worried wife

Dear Resident,

It’s 4pm on a Sunday – while most are tucking into their Sunday roasts, one woman is desperate with worry.

She calls us from Leverington and confides in us that her husband, who suffers with Parkinsons and Dementia, has now been missing for two hours.

This is out of character for him, as he wouldn’t usually go out on his own. The man, in his 70s, had no phone and just his wallet with him.

We arrive a little over 10 minutes later and search the area. We also make checks with nearby hospitals. Four minutes after this, and 18 minutes after the first call, we find the man at a nearby Asda.

This is where he said he was going, but he had a got a lift with his neighbour and then forgot how to get home.

We took the man home and reunited him with his worried wife. We also took the time to talk to her about a clever scheme called the Herbert Protocol. It can help us find people with dementia if they go missing.

We sat with her and helped her fill out our online form, and we’re encouraging family and friends of people living with dementia to do the same.

The form collates key pieces of info such as a physical description, familiar places, health details and a recent photo.

On the form you can also register your interest for one of our yellow dementia wristbands – which 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.

More than 500 people have now filled out our Herbert Protocol form online. For more information or to fill out a form yourself, visit our dedicated page on our website.

Kind regards,