Poor dementia care exposed
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A national study of over 200 hospitals has revealed poor standards of treatment in the care of people with dementia.
Findings included:
Just one in five hospitals make sure nurses are told if their patients have been diagnosed with conditions such as Alzheimer’s.
Less than half (in an audit of 8,000) of patients living with dementia were given basic tests upon admission which are intended to determine brain function and diagnose their condition.
Less than five per cent of hospitals required their staff to undergo compulsory training in dementia awareness.
Despite malnutrition being a huge factor in the illness only 30 per cent of patients were given a nutritional assessment.
When discharged 42 per cent of patients had lost weight.
12 per cent of patients were moved between two and six times during their hospital stay.
After being admitted to a ward, 40 per cent were moved around the hospital, with some being transferred from one bed to another more than five times.
Head of policy at the Alzheimer’s Society, Andrew Chidgey, has said these findings have left experts feeling concerned.
Patients with dementia who are admitted for other reasons, can find themselves neglected by the ward staff or indeed having common symptoms of dementia such as aggression and agitation misinterpreted.
Care services minister Paul Burstow has said there can be no excuses for these shocking findings and he added that the government has already set out ways in which hospitals must take action to improve the care of people with dementia.
View the original article here.
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on Tuesday, January 11th, 2011 at 9:00 am and is filed under Dementia.
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January 11th, 2011 at 11:20 am
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