Safeguard elderly living with dementia – CPF
“When reporting a missing person, it is of high importance to mention their medical condition.”
Sinoville CPF has urged the community to provide additional care for family members living with dementia.
“As we patrol, we frequently come across elderly people with dementia who are confused and unsure of how to return home.
“We ask the families to put in extra care to them as some might get lost and never return home,” said CPF spokesperson Lizette du Plooy.
The CPF plans to heighten radio communication to assist in tracing the lost.
“The CPF communication network reaches patrollers, other radio users, SAPS, security companies and first responders.
“We will enhance our communication to reach a wider audience and in that way it will be easy to trace the lost as all hands will be on deck,” Du Plooy said.
“This CPF network reduces recovery time and the associated trauma for the missing individual and their families.
“We want the residents to join community groups as well as neighbourhood watch, [in the search for] missing persons.
“These groups are effective in alerting people to be on the lookout,” Du Plooy said.
NO WAITING PERIOD TO REPORT MISSING PERSON
Du Plooy said there’s no waiting period to report a missing person.
“Our experience and research have shown that people living with dementia will wander at least once but some will do repeatedly.
“We encourage families to report their relatives once they suspect they are missing.”
The CPF and its communication network serve their purpose when searching for these vulnerable older people.
To assist the community and all role players in their search and to recognise the missing individual take the following actions:
– Phone the police and make sure to inform them that the person suffers from dementia.
– Please note: There is no waiting period for reporting a person missing.
Contact your local CPF to assist with a lookout and provide the following information:
– most recent photo, name, age, clothing description
– route, direction and favourite places the person frequents
– cellphone number, if the person has one on them, and
– car registration and tracking company’s name if the person is travelling by car.
DISCLOSE MISSING PERSON’S MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Du Plooy said it is very important to disclose the missing person’s medical condition, such as dementia, and that they are at risk when reporting them missing.
Please consider the following precautionary measures if your loved one is a “wanderer”!
– Name tag with contact information
– Consider a GPS bracelet for your loved one
– Download a tracking application such as “Life360” if the person carries an Android phone
Please contact SAPS or the CPF emergency number for missing persons.
Sinoville CPF 24-Hour Emergency numbers:
Sector 1: 071 509 6830
Sector 2: 079 025 5001
Sector 3: 074 133 4353
Sector 4: 074 133 4353
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