31/08/2025
Just after 5pm, we received a call from an elderly man. His wife was missing. 🚨
He had woken from a nap to find she was gone — no bus pass, no cash, no mobile phone. She suffers from dementia. An extremely worrying situation.
Officers were immediately dispatched to St Neots. They searched local shops, parks, and spoke with members of the public.🚔
Over an hour passed.
Then, just after 6pm, a call came in from Hail Weston. A concerned member of the public had spotted an elderly woman walking up and down the high street, confused and unsure where she was.☎️
Officers arrived and quickly realised — she was the missing woman.
She was helped into the police car and taken home to her husband, who had been waiting anxiously. 👏
We receive calls similar to this one frequently and will often speak to the families about the Herbert Protocol.
Have you heard of it? 💡 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 new Herbert Protocol form can be filled out online via our website: https://orlo.uk/Herbert-protocol_X1OQU
We also mentioned our new smart wristbands to the carer – these 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 us.
