[This article first appeared in: Dementia Newsletter RWHT Volume 1 Issue 6 January 2011].
Abstract
This interim report presents the key findings from an analysis of hospital-level data collected as part of the National Audit of Dementia. The report covers the care received by nearly 8,000 patients with dementia in 206 hospitals in England and Wales (88% of the total number) and reveals that few hospitals provide mandatory training for their staff in awareness of dementia. It points out that many patients with dementia do not receive assessments of their mental health or state of nutrition and are likely to endure serious delays before being referred to in-hospital psychiatry liaison services.
Various illuminating statistics are presented, including the following:
- 77% of hospitals do not have a training strategy identifying key skills for working with people with dementia.
- 95% of hospitals do not have mandatory training in dementia awareness for all staff.
- Only 19% of hospitals had a system to ensure ward staff were aware that a person had dementia and how it affected them.
Reference
Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Centre for Quality Improvement, (2010). National audit of dementia: care in general hospitals. London: Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), December 16th 2010.
