Vulnerable Persons Programme

Description

An Garda Siochana have always played a role in the management and care of elderly people, dealing with Dementia and Alzheimer’s in particular, in an out of hours’ capacity. Policing by its nature, is reactive responding to calls and dealing with situations as they arise, some of which are already at crisis point. During Covid, front line involvement was increased due to the number of elderly people living alone, and unable to interact with other people or support services. Tallaght Community Policing Unit, took on a more proactive role in seeking out elderly people in the community, which were in need of assistance.

Members of Tallaght Community Policing Unit noted that elderly members of the community, who had advanced dementia and Alzheimer’s, were at particular risk during this time to the isolation and lack of support. The Community Policing team called to these people on a daily basis to offer assistance, support and company. Gardaí became aware due to resource limitations, that this was not a long term solution, and observed a number of the vulnerable people were not linked to the relevant medical services, and were at risk of falling through the cracks in the system, for a variety of reasons.

This brought members of An Garda Siochana into contact with a number of state bodies, one of which was the Integrated Care Team for Older People (ICPOP), which was located in Tallaght Hospital. ICPOP made Gardaí aware that they have a number of high risk persons, both in their care and at home, refusing treatment in the Tallaght/Clondalkin area.

ICPOP had identified that there appeared to be a greater number of vulnerable persons engaging in episodes of purposeful walking, self-harm and poor living conditions in the community, increasing their risk of harm and often requiring the assistance of members of the public and the Gardaí.

Subsequent to the pandemic, Gardaí and ICPOP quickly became aware, that the volume of people being identified, who did not have an adequate support system in place was growing, and a voluntary vulnerable person’s data base was created, in order to give structured access to information, and ensure no person that was identified, was forgotten. This data base quickly evolved to included emergency contacts, frequented places, GP details and brief medical history and next of kin in case an emergency incident occurred. A statement of purpose was also created, in order to facilitate the sharing of information between organisations, and to put in place a structure, including weekly meetings and quarterly formal steering group meetings. This pilot program was then named the Vulnerable Person Programme.

Since the projects formation, other secondary groups involved in the care of vulnerable person in the community have also come on board and partake in the quarterly meetings. These groups included care staff, social workers and advocacy services.

A vulnerable person register was established in Tallaght Garda Station, which is used to store all data in relation to this project, including service users and essential documents.

Aim of Initiative

This initiative was set up to identify vulnerable elderly people who live in the Tallaght area, who are in need of support.

Who is it aimed at

The target demographic of the project is, elderly members of the community, who have advanced cognitive decline (namely Dementia and Alzheimer’s). This demographic group, were at particular risk during the Covid lock down, due to the isolation and lack of support or treatment.

3 Steps critical to success

1. A good working relationship between Community Policing and the HSE
2. Good communication between all the bodies involved – briefing local units
3. Correct storage of information gathered – GDPR

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. Identifying person who are vulnerable in the area who may not be known to the agencies
2. Agreed protocols for what to do in situations and correct training on how to deal with situations for members of An Garda Siocahna.
3. Sharing of information GDPR

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. Positive relationship between An Garda Siocahna and local agencies for older persons creating a safer environment for older persons and that have been identified as vulnerable
2. Agreed protocol between An Garda Siocahna and HSE and local agencies.
3. Garda Dementia Training Videos in collaboration with HSE team