Surrey Police has announced the introduction of an initiative to help find vulnerable people, such as dementia sufferers, if they go missing.

The Herbert Protocol, a national scheme, involves a downloadable form for families or carers to fill in in the event that their loved one or the person they care for ever goes missing.

It is designed to help police locate the person as soon as possible and avoids putting families through the stress of having to answer questions from police at an incredibly distressing and worrying time.

The initiative is named after George Herbert, a Second World War veteran of the Normandy landings, who lived with dementia and repeatedly went missing from his care home while trying to return home.

The form means the carer or family will have filled in vital information about the person previous to the event, including their full details, their regular routines, where they have connections to and details around their physical health or any medical conditions.

Police are working with Surrey County Council and Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to launch the scheme.

Force Mental Health lead Amy Mcleod, said: “Every year people across the county living with dementia are reported missing to us.

“The introduction of this scheme will be hugely beneficial in helping us locate missing people with dementia and gives officers immediate access to information about that individual so that they act fast and locate them as soon as possible.”

“I strongly encourage anybody living in Surrey who has a loved one with dementia or carers for somebody living with dementia to fill in the form.

“Even if the person has never gone missing before it’s really worthwhile to have this form completed in the event that they ever do go missing.”

Sharon Gregory, director of older people’s services at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: “People with dementia tell us that they want to remain independent as much as possible.

“However memory problems can make people feel disoriented and mean that they go missing unexpectedly.

“Keeping a record of essential information to give to the police, if needed, can help carers be as prepared as possible and provide them with greater peace of mind.

Anybody can fill in the form, from a family member, carer or close friend.

It can be downloaded from the Surrey Police website.

The keep the details on the form should be kept up to date and in the unfortunate event that the person goes missing it can be sent to the Surrey Police Contact Centre in addition to the 999 call.