By By The Newsroom
Copyright northernirelandworld
The Herbert Protocol allows families with a loved one living with dementia the opportunity to provide a range of information to the police which can then be used to help them act quickly if the person with dementia becomes lost or goes missing. Around 70% of people with dementia may go missing at least once, so the event welcomed local stakeholders and community representatives to hear first-hand accounts of how the Herbert Protocol can help individuals, families or communities that are supporting people with a dementia diagnosis. First launched on World Alzheimer’s Day in 2022, it is now being rolled out across Northern Ireland by Dementia NI, together with the PSNI, the Department of Health and the local Policing and Community and Safety Partnerships (PCSPs). Dementia NI member Martin Murtagh, from Belfast, who lives with Alzheimer’s, was at the event and said: “It is frightening to get lost when you live with dementia. “Once I went out walking alone and ended up at Belfast City Airport. I felt very confused about how or why I had got there. I think I went there because I had been many times in the past with my wife. “The Herbert Protocol allows me to keep my independence and reassures me that should I ever go missing in the future, police will have the information they need to search for me right away.” Dementia NI members, all of whom have a diagnosis of dementia, campaigned to bring the Herbert Protocol to Northern Ireland. The Herbert Protocol form, available via the PSNI website or by contacting Dementia NI, gathers personal details including previous workplaces and other places of significance that a person with dementia may travel to, such as a childhood home. It is completed and stored at their home, with a relative or next of kin and is provided to police should they go missing. A printed copy can be requested from Dementia NI by emailing info@dementiani.org or calling 028 9693 1555.
