The Dementia House Call Plain, practical guidance for families — from a doctor who makes house calls
Free printable · one page

When to call the doctor, and when to go

It is 7 p.m. and something is different. This is the one page that answers it. A calm traffic light for the worrying moments — red, amber, green — so you are not doing the maths from memory while you are frightened.

  • Red — the five things that mean call emergency services now
  • Amber — what deserves a phone call this week, not a waiting room
  • Green — what to simply write down, with a date, for the next appointment
  • The five things to have ready before you dial
  • A sentence to borrow when you are not being heard

Who it’s for

Anyone who has stood in a kitchen at 7 p.m. wondering whether this is an emergency. Print it, put it on the fridge, and it is there for whoever is on shift — a spouse, a sibling, a carer — not just for the person who researched it. Prefer to read it online first? Here is the full letter: When to call the doctor, and when to go.

The one rule underneath all three

A sudden change is medical until proven otherwise. The disease moves slowly. If confusion, agitation or sleepiness arrives fast — over hours or a day or two — think infection, pain, constipation or a new medication first. That is often delirium, it is frequently reversible, and it needs a phone call, not a behaviour strategy. If you are unsure, assume it needs assessing and make the call.

The Dementia House Call. This overview is general education for families and is not medical advice; it does not create a doctor–patient relationship and does not replace your own physician. Anything that looks like a sudden change, an infection, or an injury needs assessing, not managing — if you're unsure, assume it does and make the call. © 2026 The Dementia House Call. · Disclosure