As most live-in carers know, wandering is very common behaviour in clients who have any form of dementia. This always makes them a high risk because of simply wandering off and becoming lost, and can be very concerning to both carers and family, not to mention dangerous for the client.

Why do people wander?

The causes of wandering are not fully understood and this varies with each person. Often it appears as if the person is trying to find something or get back to a place they like. Sometimes people may simply wander because they feel agitated or restless.

Some reasons for wandering:

• Inability to remember instructions to stay in the car, not leave the house or to wait
• Agitation or delirium
• A sudden change of routine
• Response to something seen or heard
• Searching for something in their past
• Desire to go home, even though they may be at home

There are some signs and clues to watch out for which will alert you to the possibility that your client may wander.

They may start to say things along these lines:

• I must go to work
• I should go home
• I need to go shopping

Other signs that they may wander are

• Not recognising their own home
• Increased pacing and restlessness
• Forgetting the location of rooms in the house
• Forgetting to come back into the house from outside
• Inability to focus on a task, forgetting where they are and what they are doing

How can we prevent wandering?

There are some things we can do to prevent wandering or at least make it more difficult to do.

We can create a secure environment by:

• Placing locks on doors, particularly external doors
• Locking windows or using alarms
• Discreetly hiding car keys
• Never leaving the client alone in the car or house
• Using a tracking device

Another way to distract from wandering is to add other activities such as physical exercise, ensuring they get enough sleep, and reporting an increase in confusion to their doctor.

What to do it a client wanders away

Time is crucial in a situation like this and you should notify the police immediately by calling 999 or 112.

Final thoughts

It can be frightening to find that a client has wandered off and not be able to locate them. Ideally, they should carry some form of identification to show contact details. This can be a card pinned inside a pocket or hung around the neck on a ribbon.

Have a plan in place with contact details of friends and neighbours who can look out for them.

Alert any businesses close by and leave contact details so that they may contact you if needed.

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