HELEN Birchenough was indeed fortunate to find such rapid and sympathetic support when she needed it (Journal Footnotes, January 7).

My experience of trying to find help for a confused elderly lady who turned up in my garden at 8.30pm one Sunday evening, having got lost, was rather different. She didn’t know her address.

I dialled 101. Jill on the switchboard asked rather aggressively what I expected them to do – well, some advice on who could help might be good, if they couldn’t.

Julie was a little more helpful and gave me the phone number of social services, which was in Chippenham and, with only one person on call, felt unable to help someone in Salisbury.

They would put the lady on their “vulnerable and at risk” database. Please call 111. I did.

By chatting I had managed to work out where she lived, and was asked to take her to her own flat in case she needed hospital admittance and might need personal items.

It eventually took until 6am Monday morning for help to arrive in the person of an excellent empathic doctor from Medvivo services. He did various physical tests and arranged that she should be mentally assessed later that morning. I got home at 6.45am.

The whole experience left me shocked that a total stranger was expected and allowed to take responsibility for a very vulnerable person.

ELIZABETH MOSS Salisbury