URGENT.. Who do I contact in this situation?

[BluntCat]

Two weeks ago I was on my way home from the cinema, I stopped off at my local shop just before it closed at 11pm, when I came out I saw an elderly lady wandering in the road, She was naked. The road is on the same road as a sheltered living place so I asked if she lived in there, She said yes but couldn't tell me which flat was hers, she also kept mentioning children, as in 'I can't go back in my flat because the children are in there' 'The little children look at me when I'm on the sofa' etc

I knocked on a few flat doors and nobody knew who she was so i called the police, they came out and I left.

Saw her twice more and called the police again as she was naked again and in the road in the dark, she is very confused and kept saying she doesn't know where she lives etc, Called the police each time because i didn't know what to do and i didn't want to just leave her. She does live in the sheltered place and the police have been taking her back to her flat each time.

Just seen her wandering passed my flat (a ten minute walk from the sheltered living place) There is supposed to be a manager on site but they are never there, the number on google just rings and rings with no answer.

Not sure what to do or who to contact, I can't just leave her. She is in her 80s and is acting like my nan did when she had demetia. Do I just keep phoning the police or is there something else i should be doing?

Police first and then adult safeguarding team. Tell them no one answers at the assisted living and no one is there either. Mention the times you've seen her wondering naked around the streets. They may have family contacts or can look into why no one is watching her

Also, a lot "assisted living" places only have wardens a few ours a day.

The police will be referring to adult social care each time.

For clarity - the Safeguarding team at the local authority is about responding to abuse or neglect. Safeguarding Adults has a very specific meaning under S.42 of the care act around those two things.

Sudden wandersome behaviour in an elderly person is generally neither of these things but is a concern that needs to be flagged with ASC and they will respond - this can take time though to get all the assessments etc done and rule out things like infection as a cause.

Most warden controlled places only have someone on site 9-5. It sounds like her needs have increased and her living situation needs a reassessment.

Usually at the front of the building it will tell you who manages/owns the building i.e. if it's the council or a housing association. Call them and tell them they need to do more to ensure she stays indoors. She might be better suited to residential care then sheltered housing - if that's the case then you need to raise a safeguarding alert to your local council - Adult Social Care is who you need. They by law need to have a 24/7 service running so u can speak to someone now for advice or raise an alert via your Councils website.

If police have had to return her to sheltered accommodation on more than one occasion then why have they not raised safeguarding concerns ?

Helpful. The OP is obviously doing that and is asking for advice in an ongoing situation for an elderly women she clearly has compassion for. You can do better.

You call the police every time

This is a 999 call every single time.

They will have, and will do so every time they respond. Whether social care does anything about it is another matter.

Indeed - my late Mums Mcarthy Stone house manager was only available 8:30-230 - M-F. When my Mum started wandering in the corridor outside her apartment at the beginning of her dementia - it was residents who called 'Careline' who then alerted me.

Failing the police, I had a similar experience with one of my neighbours wandering around in a dressing gown and nothing else in the early hours ,ranting to himself. I had very little to go on but called the local mental health crisis team . They told me they could do nothing for somebody who didn’t ’self refer’.
I called the local gp surgery and gave a short description , and although obviously they can discuss nothing for confidentiality, they did make extensive notes and take it very seriously , and I believe actions were taken as very quickly there were interventions. I live in a village though, and this probably isn’t effective if you live somewhere more urban .

It's not a safeguarding issue.

Highly unlikely the out of hours team at ASC will do anything beyond tell the OP to call the police and pass them information on to the duty team in the morning - there's absolutely nothing they can do this evening beyond call an ambulance or police which the OP can also do.

They will have done.

Adult social care will respond to that, but of for example there is an LPOA who disagrees 24 hour care is needed, or it's suspected the person has an infection and may get better, or they are waiting for meds to kick in to see if that helps then they will always look at the least restrictive options before 24 hour care is agreed.

Its not a safeguarding issue though. Safeguarding under the Care Act specifically relates to abuse or neglect.

I just want to say, OP, thank goodness for kind souls like you. That poor woman. Any of us could find ourselves in her position one day, and I hope there’ll be good people like you to help.

You need to report to adult social services, but the police should have done this already also x

The police will probably contact the family too, they phoned me when my elderly dad was found wandering, and said they had to contact safeguarding, which of course they were perfectly right in doing.

1. 999 will keep herr safe for tonight - returning her home
2. either go to the home yourself and ask what they arre doing to keep her safe [not enough i would say]
3. or contact adult social services and say that this home is continually failing this elderly lady
4. Contact your local councillor.

For me 3. is best and thank you for wanting to help

I hope you've called the police by now OP. I would ask them if they have already referred to social services. If not, this is a social services remit and I'd definitely say it's an urgent safeguarding concern. Ring your local council to refer her, or to report the assisted living place (they will just make sure they are doing everything they should be to safeguard her) or make sure the police have done so.

If she is wandering the streets naked regularly, then she needs emergency respite care until a safe place can be found on a permanent basis - 24 hour care not just assisted living which is just living alone with carers going in every now and again. She's clearly not safe to be left on her own and she's putting her life in danger (not to mention her dignity). This poor woman. I wonder if she has any family?

There are all sorts of telecare things and measures that can be put in place to alert someone if for example, she opens the door or leaves the property after a certain time.

I think all you can do is report to police via 999. Can you speak to the police when they come out and reiterate that this has happened several times before and ask about previous referral to social services? I would also try and find out who is the provider of the sheltered accommodation and speak to the manager responsible. Thank you for caring 💐

Search for your local MASH - Multi Agency Safeguarding Team.

She is absolutely being neglected or self neglecting (depending on capacity) if she is repeatedly at this much risk. In my area this would be dealt with via safeguarding.

i agree with the advice from others above 999 in the moment and follow up on next working day with adult safeguarding for your local council area. It sounds like either her situation is complex like others have explained, or that something is being missed and she is falling through the cracks. If you raise the concern to sw yourself you at least can be more reassured that they know of her risk.

That poor woman. She needs to be in a residential setting with proper care. She's really lucky she's got you looking out for her.

Agree with this. She may be just about ok normally but has a UTI or other infection.

Of course it’s neglect, self of by the sheltered housing. It’s only going to get colder and she could freeze to death or be taken advantage of not to mention her dignity.

@BluntCat you’re doing the right thing my ringing the Police every time and they should refer to ASC.