Contingency Planning
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Even if you're currently snowed under with things to do, we'd recommend making at least an initial scan of the list of potential 'emergency' events below. Consider which would cause most difficulty, and what simple plans you could easily put in place now and expand on later if necessary. And yes, snow is one of the potential events.
Potential emergency events
Consider the following events, so you can put plans in place beforehand:
Lost keys / door chain on / no-one able to get in
Consider keys being lost by your loved one or others, or others not being able to get in because the door chain is on and/or your loved one can't answer the door because they're ill or have fallen. Make sure you have working spare keys for all doors (and windows) for yourself and for trusted neighbours or visiting carers, and that if there's a chain on the front door you're able to get in via a locked but not bolted back door. Consider a key safe which attaches to a wall outside and has a combination lock code you can give to visiting carers or to an ambulance crew. It may be useful for your loved one to have a spring lanyard to hold the door key, securely fastened to their clothes (but as always, don't change a familiar system that works for them, such as a key in their purse - perhaps have both).
Wandering out and getting lost
It's worth having a label such as "If lost call [your forename] [your phone number]" on things they'll have with them, such as keys, purse/wallet and coat. We'd suggest you avoid putting on your surname if it's the same as theirs, in case keys can then be linked to the house. You could also add the information that they have dementia, or if that might offend them then 'a poor memory', to make sure people understand.
GPS tracker systems are also available.
Fall and personal alarm
A monitored personal alarm can help your loved one call for help if required, by pressing a red button worn on a lanyard around the neck or like a wristwatch. Some systems also have an automatic fall monitor that can raise an alert.
Trip to hospital
It's useful to have a bag and checklist ready for an unplanned trip to hospital - see our section on hospital bags.
Heating failure
In case gas heating fails we recommend having some suitable electric heaters available that can be brought out. (NB try to store them somewhere they won't get dust in, otherwise there'll be a burning smell until the dust burns off - but don't cover them in something that might not be removed before use, such as a plastic bag.) Consider including emergency cover on the house insurance (which will cover other emergencies too), or taking out a boiler service contract that includes emergency repair cover. Note that replacement parts may not be available for older boilers, which makes them much slower or impossible to repair and so of greater concern, and also note that this may mean that emergency cover is invalid. In addition to room heating, consider whether there's alternative hot water heating, such as an electrical immersion heater.
Heatwave
We'd recommend having fans available that can be brought out in a heatwave, particularly given that fans soon disappear from the shops when it gets hot. Consider having one for the day room and one for the bedroom.
Power cut or other outage
It's worth having 'power cut lights' and signing up for notifications of power cuts and other outages, and signing up for the 'Priority Services Register' - see our section on utility outages.
You being ill
If your loved one relies on you for their care, then if you were taken ill unexpectedly who'd be able to look after them? Also, make sure people would know your loved one relies on you for their care - carry a card with you stating this and asking for a particular person to be contacted (where possible you might want to avoid giving your loved one's details in case the card is lost or stolen, which would then make your loved one vulnerable).
Visiting carer not come
Unfortunately it's not unheard of for a scheduled visit from a carer to be missed, either because there's been a mix-up at the office or there's been an emergency on an earlier part of their round or because of snow etc. If you're not near enough to visit, is there a trustworthy neighbour or a capable friend who could help on the odd occasion?
In order to know when a visit's been missed, you may find it useful to have the visiting carer phone you from your loved one's phone each time they're there - particularly as this can also be very useful if your loved one doesn't always put the phone down correctly and you can't get through, or there's some difficulty your loved one's mentioned in an earlier phone call to you and you want to ask the carer to do something or check something.
Ice and snow
See our advice on stocking up with ice-clearing supplies in advance - such supplies soon disappear from the shops when it snows.
Pets
Consider two events: firstly, if your loved one's taken into hospital (and so visiting carers will stop), who will look after their pets (feeding, litter trays, walking dogs)? Secondly, if the weather's too icy or too windy, who's going to walk dogs? See our section on help with pets.
Main gas valve, water stopcock, electricity consumer unit
Make sure you, and visiting carers, know where the main gas valve is (usually by the meter), the main water stopcock (by the meter if there is one, and perhaps under the kitchen sink), and the electricity consumer unit with the circuit switches (or 'fuse board') and RCD if there is one.
If a triangular key is needed to open a meter cupboard then make sure it's available but won't be lost (a spare can be bought easily and is useful to have).
For water stopcocks, be aware that old ones that haven't been used for a long time may be stuck solid. If that's the case then we wouldn't recommend trying to force it as that could potentially cause a leak. A stopcock at the water meter (or the boundary of your property) should be the water company's responsibility to maintain (in the UK). Some people advise turning the stopcock a little once in a while to prevent it sticking solid, but eventually this can wear the gland and cause it to leak too. For that reason we prefer to use the water company's stopcock if it's not an emergency.
First aid kit
It's useful to have a first aid kit. Check the expiry dates of the contents, and consider whether any (e.g. disinfectant) might be unsafe for your loved one to come across, in which case also remove those to somewhere safe that a carer can access, such as a cupboard with a child-proof lock, and make a note in the first aid kit. You may want to have a separate pack of plasters available for your loved one to use.