Safely Home initiative receives QPS Awards for Excellence

Vital statewide registrations of people living with dementia plus vastly improved operational capabilities, have earned the joint Queensland Police Service (QPS) and Alzheimer’s Australia (Qld) initiative, Safely Home praise from Commissioner of Police, Ian Stewart at today’s QPS Awards for Excellence.

The QPS Awards for Excellence acknowledge and reward individuals and teams for innovative, creative and outstanding initiatives, projects or systems that have been implemented across the state.

Safely Home registration of people living with dementia encourages individuals to provide medical and personal details which are then logged in-confidence within a QPS database. A Safely Home identifying bracelet is then assigned, making it easy to ascertain who a person is if found to be wandering, looking lost or disoriented.

Successful community engagement and consultation during the introductory phase of the program, marks an acceleration of marketing throughout the QPS which is perfectly timed towards the start of national Dementia Awareness Month in September.

“The Safely Home initiative is a project that is focused on helping prevent those people in our community living with dementia from becoming one of the many people reported missing each year.

“I congratulate the project team from our Missing Persons Unit and the team from Alzheimer’s Australia Queensland for their dedication to this initiative and on receiving the bronze award at this morning’s Awards for Excellence ceremony,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Cameron Harsley said.

Alzheimer’s Australia (Qld) CEO, Victoria Beedle is ecstatic with the enthusiasm shown by those people living with dementia, their family members and carers towards the Safely Home initiative.

“Successful implementation of the Safely Home program in April was made possible through ongoing consultation and the absolute support of all stakeholders, including invaluable financial provision by Lowood Slimmers,” confirmed Ms Beedle.

“The unwavering commitment of the Queensland Police Service has provided added reassurance among all local communities living with dementia.

“There are so many benefits to be gained through registration within the Safely Home program. An individual’s confidence may be enhanced, plus members of a community can assist in identifying a person by their bracelet and have immediate access to the toll-free PoliceLink number.

“It is our continued hope that the Safely Home initiative will help to do just that – to bring Queenslanders with dementia safely home.”

KEY FACTS – Safely Home

Launched 15 April, 2015 as an important initiative aimed at helping prevent the 6700 missing persons cases reported to police across Queensland each year.

Aims to prevent people living with dementia or dementia-related illnesses from going missing, including cases where people have wandered from their home or become disoriented or lost while away from home.

Wandering is quite common amongst people with dementia, who have an increased risk of becoming a missing person.

QPS says on average, there are 18 new reports of missing persons across Queensland every day. Of the 6,700 cases each year, over 300 are older persons or people living with dementia.

Safely Home is a joint initiative of the Queensland Police Service and Alzheimer’s Australia (Qld) and focused on the timely recovery of those who go missing, but also importantly on the prevention of these incidents.

The Safely Home bracelet - worn by people with dementia at risk of wandering - is engraved with a unique identifying code, which links directly to a database accessible by police at all times from any location. It is also engraved with the PoliceLink telephone number.

Family members who believe their loved one is at risk are also encouraged not to not solely rely on any one single measure. Keeping in regular contact and physically checking in on your loved one is always going to be the first line of prevention.

The bracelets are available at no cost to people with a diagnosis of dementia through Alzheimer’s Australia (Qld).  The bracelet has a concealed clasp, to prevent the wearer inadvertently removing it.

Dementia is the term used to describe the symptoms of a large group of illnesses, which cause a progressive decline in a person’s mental functioning. It is a broad term, which describes a loss of memory, intellect, rationality, social skills and normal emotional reactions.