SINGAPORE – Caregivers of those with dementia can now get more community support to look out for – and return – their loved ones when they go missing.

The initiative, a tie-up between the Municipal Services Office (MSO) and Dementia Singapore, was launched on Monday.

When a report, with photo and details of the missing person, is submitted to Dementia Singapore’s Cara app, it will send a push notification to all users of the app.

The same information will also be sent through a push notification to OneService app users who live in the town of the lost person’s last seen location.

Users are also notified when the missing person is found.

The OneService app from MSO, which has 500,000 users, is currently used for neighbourhood issues like providing feedback on cleanliness, facilities and pests.

The partnership sees the OneService app complementing the Safe Return and Report Missing Person feature of the Cara app.

Since the feature was soft-launched in November 2022, it has helped facilitate the safe return of seven people. 

The Well-being of Singapore Elderly study conducted by the Institute of Mental Health in 2013 found that one in 10 seniors who are aged 60 and above has dementia.

Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development Sim Ann, who attended the launch of the tie-up at Dementia Singapore’s New Horizon Centre in Bukit Batok, said: “Families experience much anxiety when their loved ones with dementia go missing.”

She added: “By reaching a wider audience and encouraging residents to keep a lookout for one another, I am confident that we can foster a more dementia-friendly Singapore together.”

Dementia Singapore’s chief executive Jason Foo said its vision has always been to create a more inclusive society.

“Through Cara, we are seeing our friends living with dementia and their caregivers becoming more empowered, involved and supported in their journeys living with or caring for someone with dementia.”

Mr Foo added that there has been a rising incidence of seniors going missing in Singapore in the past couple of years, many of whom have dementia.

He said the partnership will effectively help to address the growing concern among families by significantly expanding the reach of the missing person notifications.

“With a larger population reach, the probability is higher that a missing person with dementia will be found more quickly.”