Police 'dementia files' seek to find Scotland's missing people

Scottish Police plan to collect ‘dementia files’ on hospital patients and care home residents to help to find them if they go missing.

Information such as where the person used to live, went to school or got married, will be collected for police but held by care homes or relatives in an agreed place, as part of the scheme. This information is designed to help police find ‘secret’ places where residents or patients may have wandered off to.

Jim Pearson, head of policy and research from Alzheimer Scotland, said: “We welcome Police Scotland’s pilot missing person protocol which may help bring people with dementia home safely if they do go missing.

“The new protocol will save precious time and help the police and other agencies to act immediately, using the information that has already been gathered, to begin the process of finding the person as quickly as possible.”

The scheme is currently being piloted in seven areas and Police Scotland are planning to roll it out across Scotland.

Dementia Scotland is warning that figures for dementia in Scotland are set to grow, making people going missing also a growing problem for care companies and the police.

Mr Pearson said: “There are around 90,000 people living with dementia across Scotland. We know that because of the nature of the illness people with dementia can be at greater risk of going missing and are potentially more vulnerable.”

An estimated 40 per cent of these people may go missing, which is something that many care homes and local police forces have to deal with on a daily basis.

The new police database of information could reduce the number of massive searches for missing people with dementia, simply by identifying the favourite haunts of those who possibly intended to visit somewhere from their youth.

The pilot for the scheme started with a meeting in 2015, when Police Scotland started addressing the issue of missing persons, and there has been growing momentum ever since.

Chief inspector James Royan, who leads on the pilot on behalf of Police Scotland, said: “This partnership protocol is a simple but critical element in keeping older, vulnerable people safe and reducing the risk of them going missing. When you consider that 40 per cent of people living with dementia will go missing at some point in their lives, it is vitally important that together we are able to respond quickly and effectively.

“I am very grateful to the care homes and Local Authorities who are already supporting this pilot, and would encourage other establishments to consider the benefits that the scheme provides. It’s about maintaining the independence of residents for longer – with an established plan in place to respond should they go missing, it allows their normal routines to continue in the meantime.”