I led the research, design, and implementation of a national suite of services for people affected by dementia.
The scheme sits within the National Missing Person Framework for Scotland and is used amongst a population of 6 million people.
A pioneering app for missing people with dementia
A Police form to speed up missing persons searches, now adopted nationwide
A service in partnership with Police Scotland, designed to mitigate repeat missing occurrences.
A NFC fob designed to reunite a missing person with their family
Developed in collaboration with Scottish Government, Emergency Services and Local Authorities, with and for people affected by dementia.
The only app of this kind in the world, it has become a case study for adoption in Canada, Australia, Scandinavia, Italy and the rest of the UK.
When launched in 2017, Purple Alert had 120 users. It soon became a grassroots asset, strengthening communities and bringing stakeholders together.
Purple Alert was included in the Missing Person Framework For Scotland in 2021, as an important tool in finding missing people with dementia.
Purple Alert was included in several courses as a case study, including Leading Digital Transformation in Health and Care for Scotland at the University of Edinburgh
Purple Alert was only the beginning of what became the Dementia Safeguarding Scheme, a life changing national scheme, now in use throughout Scotland.
By using The Herbert Protocol Police is more likely to find the missing person within the first hour from them being missing.
Since the national rollout in 2021, Police Scotland recorded a 35% increase in the uptake of the Herbert Protocol, having a substantial positive impact on families' lives and Police resources.
The Herbert Protocol national steering group initiated some pivotal stakeholders relationships, which led to the strategic redesign of national policies around missing, nationally and internationally.
A year-long pilot in Edinburgh demonstrated a 37.5% reduction in repeat missing occurrences after the implementation of the service.
The impact of the pilot secured 6X the initial funding to scale the project to Lanarkshire and Fife Police divisions, with the aim of national implementation after 2026.
The University of Edinburgh is measuring the 'cost of missing' in an evaluation study, to build the business case for national implementation.
The simplicity of the product made it go viral on Facebook and propelled national interest. SafeConnect is now in use throughout Scotland.
On the back of the success of SafeConnect and the Dementia Safeguarding Scheme, an MOU was signed between Alzheimer Scotland and Police Scotland.
A SafeConnect costs £1, but can make a huge difference when the community, families and local authorities work together.