In Gateshead, an estimated 1,138 people are living with dementia. With 20.4% of the population aged over 65, demand for dementia support and social care continues to grow.
In response, Gateshead Cares, funded by Gateshead Council, is partnering with Lumiio to launch a new Dementia Wristband safeguarding initiative. This initiative is designed to speed up the process of reuniting lost individuals living with dementia with their loved ones. Overall, this will reduce the negative impact of wandering for all those affected by this heart-breaking condition.
Dementia and Wandering
Wandering is caused by forms of dementia; it can put individuals at a much higher risk of going missing and is also incredibly distressing for both the individual and their loved ones. This behaviour is caused by many common dementia symptoms, but most often memory loss coupled with spatial disorientation and confusion. It is critical that individuals living with dementia are found and returned to a safe place within the first 24 hours of being reported missing, as after this, the risk of serious injury and even death drastically increases.
The Dementia Wristband Initiative
To combat the negative effects of wandering for those living with dementia, Gateshead Council and Gateshead Cares approached the safeguarding technology developer Lumiio.
Lumiio create smart safeguarding products designed to break down information barriers by storing essential personal details, such as a vulnerable individual’s name, key details like diagnoses, and their emergency contact information. This critical information is then made universally and securely accessible using NFC technology, the very same that enables Apple and Google Pay in the majority of modern smartphones.
To support a lost or confused individual living with dementia, you should tap and hold a smartphone against their Lumiio product to retrieve the vulnerable individual’s essential information.
In line with Gateshead Cares and Gateshead Council’s aim to shift towards crisis prevention, self-help, and early support, they worked with Lumiio on a custom design for Gateshead’s own Dementia Wristbands.
What to look out for?
These Gateshead Dementia Wristbands are specially designed in the colour forget-me-not blue and are branded with the Gateshead Cares logo. On the wristband’s face is the action text ‘Help Me Get Home, Tap for Info’, to ensure individuals know how to provide those wearing a wristband with support.
Gateshead Cares and the Council chose the Watch Style Wristband to encourage wearability and usability. As those used to wearing a wristwatch will find the design comfortable and familiar, whilst the circular ‘face’ of the wristband increases visibility and scannability for individuals offering support.
These Dementia Wristbands will be distributed by Gateshead Cares and Gateshead Council once the initiative is formally launched. Keep up to date with key updates about this project via their respective websites and social media.
Gateshead Council:
Gateshead Cares:
Lumiio’s Previous Work Supporting Dementia Safeguarding Initiatives Across the UK
Lumiio is working with other councils, police, and charities across the UK on similar Dementia Wristband initiatives. In October 2025, Lumiio worked with Sefton Council and Carer’s Centre, in Merseyside, on their own Dementia Wristband safeguarding initiative. After the launch of the initiative, the Chief Executive Officer for Sefton Carers Centre, Vicky Keeley, reported that “over 3,000 families in Sefton have benefited from the project and the feedback we have received has highlighted the value unpaid carers feel in the knowledge the person they care for has this additional support.”
Learn more about Lumiio on their website https://lumiio.io/ or their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Lumiio.Solution/.
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