Earlier this year, a civic movement launched a public petition (Direito previsto na Constituição da República Portuguesa e na Lei n.º 43/90) to improve the prevention and response to the disappearance of people with dementia, which Alzheimer Portugal has signed and publicised, and currently has reached over 7,800 signatures. In this context, Alzheimer Portugal has drawn up recommendations to help searching for missing people with dementia, which have been publicised to the public, security forces and local authorities. This document includes a list of common behavioural patterns and strategies to be implemented, including filling in a form to describe the individual profile of the missing person with dementia.
This issue has never been systematically considered, and the Portuguese authorities still have no specific procedures for implementing prevention and response measures. The petition is addressed to the Portuguese Government and Parliament, the Health Regulatory Authority, the Ministry of Health and all public and private hospitals, as well as police authorities and local councils, and lists concrete measures to be urgently implemented. The petition was prompted by a specific case that shook Portuguese society. On 12 December 2023, Avelina Ferreira, who had been diagnosed with dementia, went with her husband to a Lisbon hospital to be seen in the emergency room. Despite alerting health professionals of his wife's condition, he was prevented from accompanying her and she ended up leaving the hospital alone.
Despite the efforts of friends, colleagues and family, who carried out painstaking searches and widely publicised the situation in the media and on social networks, the woman is still missing. Portuguese legislation has recognised the right of patients to be accompanied in health services for several years (Lei nº 15/2014). However, this law has been systematically disrespected. Alzheimer Portugal believes that the petition and the media attention that has been given to this issue represents an effective contribution to ensuring compliance with the law and the rights and safety of people with dementia. Alzheimer Portugal is committed to working with the organisations involved to ensure that these dramatic and unacceptable situations no longer occur in their country.
