What is the Herbert Protocol?
What is the Herbert Protocol?
“The Herbert Protocol is a form that holds important information about a person living with dementia” says The Herbert Protocol website. A description of what they look like, medicine they take, important phone numbers, and places from their past that they may attempt to revisit as they bring comfort, is included. This is a national initiative hosted by MedicAlert that all police forces can access, if a person with dementia is prone to going missing.
Where the name comes from
George Herbert was a war veteran who lived with dementia. His local police force, Norfolk Constabulary, realised they needed a better way to look after vulnerable people after Mr Herbert went missing a few times. The idea was to safeguard people earlier and therefore lower the risk, which led to the Herbert Protocol being created.
Who is it for?
The Herbert Protocol is for people living with dementia who still have independent mobility and therefore may attempt to leave a place they don’t identify with as home. This happens because when dementia damages the part of the brain responsible for memory, a person can perceive the place they may have lived in for years as unfamiliar and unsafe. This can be because they are now living in a younger version of their reality before they lived in the home they do currently. Therefore, they try to leave and look for a place they lived in when they were younger, which they associate with safety and familiarity.
What information the form includes
The Herbert Protocol form includes essential information to ensure no time is wasted in finding the person if they go missing.
Personal details and a recent photograph
An up-to-date photo will enable police to have an accurate idea of what the person they’re looking for looks like and their style of clothing
Particular places they might go
This includes places that were important to them when they were younger, such as a former home or where their children went to school
Medication and medical needs
Medication and medical needs is essential in case they are involved in an accident and need treatment from paramedics or in hospital
What they were wearing
Being able to say what the person is wearing will be highly beneficial for the people who are looking for them and to eliminate others
How to get and complete the form
The online Herbert Protocol form is hosted free of charge by MedicAlert and can be found here. It will then be accessible to all police forces, in the unfortunate event that your loved one living with dementia decides to walk with purpose and needs to be located. You can also complete and print out a copy of the form on police.uk if you’d prefer it not to be hosted online.
Where to keep it
The online form will be hosted safely by MedicAlert, however if you prefer to have a paper copy of the form stored at home you should keep it somewhere safe that you’ll be able to access in an emergency and give to police. This saves valuable time as you may not be able to remember crucial details at such an emotional time.
Keeping it up to date
It’s very important to keep the Herbert Protocol form up to date as that will save time if the worst happens and the person living with dementia goes missing. Being able to give police current details will ensure they can spread the word to everyone who is searching for them and will mean they locate them as soon as possible.
What to do if someone goes missing
If someone living with dementia goes missing, you should try and remain calm and search throughout the property for them at first. Think of their places of importance, that they visit frequently, or that hold significant memories for them.
When to call 999
“If they’re not quickly found, call 999 and report them as missing” says the Herbert Protocol website. “Inform the operator that the person who is missing has dementia and that you have a completed Herbert Protocol form stored with MedicAlert or to hand.”
Handing the form to police
Police will be able to access the form electronically if it’s stored online with MedicAlert, but you should hand investigators a paper copy if you have one, without delay. This will provide them with a detailed description, and whether they’ve gone missing before.
Other ways to reduce the risk
Some people think that the way to keep loved ones safe is to prevent them from leaving their house, but as well as potentially depriving them of their liberties, this will lead to them becoming more distressed. People living with dementia who wish to leave the house have purpose, they’re not just aimlessly “wandering”, so to prevent them from doing so will lead to anxiety, anger, and upset. They may be living in a time when they had to collect their children from school, go to work, or feed animals, which will still be very real to them.
Tracking devices and telecare
GPS devices are discreet and can give peace of mind to loved ones who are concerned about the person becoming lost. Depending on the person’s mental capacity though there may be ethical issues to consider. Telecare in the home is a wearable device that can send alerts to caregivers if the person falls or calls for help.
Alarms and door sensors
Door and motion sensors monitor doors and windows being opened and unusual movement, alerting caregivers to the danger. Bed and chair alarms can also sound if the person gets up, giving caregivers advanced warning. Smart tools are also available, such as app-controlled devices, subject to the person’s needs.
Changes around the home
Unfamiliar surroundings can often unsettle a person living with dementia, meaning that they may try and find ‘home’. Changing things to make them more recognisable, such as a whistling kettle, gravity flush toilet, dial telephone, or other things that may be familiar from their youth may help them to feel more settled.
Reassurance from Helping Hands dementia care
Because Helping Hands have been supporting people with dementia to live as independently and comfortably at home since 1989, we truly are the dementia home care experts. Our carers all undergo dementia training to build on their existing knowledge, and our own team of clinical nurses manage every complex package of care that we deliver.
Dementia-trained carers
We design and deliver all of our own training and have won awards for it in the past. That’s because we place such importance on insuring our carers are fully equipped to support their customers in every eventuality, and that they’re always treated as an individual with unique needs.
Overnight and live-in care
We offer visiting, overnight, and live-in care which means we can build your package of care exactly as you need it. Family may need some extra support at key times of day to care for a loved one, whereas our live-in care and 24-hour care mean that your carer is always with you.
Speaking to our dementia team
It’s so easy to speak to our dementia care team. You can call us or chat online, seven days a week, or request a callback for a time that suits you. We also have our own network of 155 branches across England and Wales, all owned and managed by us. We never sell franchises to anyone else.
FAQs
The Herbert Protocol is important because it means that in the worst-case scenario of someone with dementia going missing, the police will quickly have the information they need to find the person again.
The Herbert Protocol began because George Herbert, a war veteran living with dementia, kept going missing from his home. Norfolk Constabulary realised they needed a better way to lower the risk for vulnerable people, which led to the Herbert Protocol being created.
Locking the door is not a viable option, as it can deprive the person of their liberties if they still have capacity to act on their own behalf. It can also lead to increased distress for someone who is in later-stage dementia because they will be trying to leave for a reason; they won’t just be aimlessly ‘wandering’ as it sometimes labelled. It’s important to ‘get inside their world’ and work out why they’re behaving in a particular way.
Sensor mats, door alarms, and other motion-detecting devices may help to give caregivers advanced warning that someone is attempting to leave their home. The person can then be reassured that they are in a safe place or accompanied out of the house to the place they wish to go.
Helping Hands carers are all trained in dementia care and will be familiar with the individual circumstances of the people they support. Our carers understand that dementia is an individualised condition – there’s no ‘one size fits all’. That’s why our carers, whether visiting or living in, are all compassionate people who wish to help people with dementia to live as well as possible, as well as giving their loved ones peace of mind.