One of the fears and common dangers for carers of dementia patients is when the patient is “missing”. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but when it does happen, it is an extremely stressful time upon realizing someone with dementia has simply walked out of the house. The danger, of course, is that the person does not realize the implications of wandering about without notifying a family member or perhaps that the person does not remember how to go back home. What has happened from time to time is that a person with dementia wanders home, sometimes confused, only to be verbally castigated by family members – causing more confusion and oftentimes humiliation. It is understandable for the carers to be in a panic, but the situation often goes from bad to worse, emotionally, for everyone.

Prevent this scenario by creating a standard protocol, communicated to pre-determined people, and perhaps by running a few practice drills. Begin by creating a useful profile of the person with dementia, including the following information:

– recent photo (face & full body)
– age (date of birth)
– hair colour
– eye colour
– height
– name (including nickname or often-used title)
– phone number, address
– emergency contact person

When diagnosed with dementia, alert some trusted neighbors of possible wandering and give them copies of the profile to keep. Always keep some copies on hand, in case the police may need to be involved (who will certainly appreciate up-to-date information to make their search easier). For friends and family who may live far away, let them know of current medical conditions and provide them with the profile also. As people with dementia regress further into their past, they may contact close friends from long ago, hoping to reconnect. Letting them know in advance will also help them understand that the unexpected visit may be a possible “wandering”, and that phoning the emergency contact person may stop a panicked search. As always, once found, be gentle with the patient – people with dementia often do not “try” to create problems on purpose.