Good afternoon,

I wanted to send out a message to let you know about the ‘Herbert Protocol’. It's a online form that family members (or carers) can complete online which provides the police with valuable information in case their vulnerable family member with dementia goes missing. The Herbert Protocol is named after George Herbert, a war veteran of the Normandy landings, who lived with dementia. George died when he went missing while trying to find his childhood home.

The online form can be accessed through the Safe and Found website: https://safeandfoundonline.co.uk/herbert-protocol/index.html

Dementia effects people differently. For some, it effects their ability to speak, for others their memory can be impaired or they just need more time to understand what is happening around them. These factors can result in a person becoming confused and consequently getting lost. The protocol enables family members to pre-emptively record important details of such vulnerable people, including their interests, the places they like to visit and how dementia effects them. 

Should a family member with dementia go missing, once they are reported as missing to Kent Police, a limited number of officers and staff can access this information which is then used to try and find the vulnerable person.

More information can be found on the Kent Police website - https://www.kent.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/missing-person/missing-persons/vulnerable-people-at-risk-of-going-missing/dementia-missing-risk-herbert-protocol/