Summary
The Alzheimer’s Society may have found further evidence of poor and variable care in a review of acute hospital care for dementia patients. Their report is based on Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, to which not all Trusts were in a position to respond; so the data could be skewed in either direction overall. It is the variation in care quality that is the main focus.
Problems detected include the prevalence of falls, night-time discharges, length of stay (delayed discharges), rates of hospital re-admissions, and anecdotal reports of “patients being treated with excessive force, not being given enough help with meals and drinks, and being left in wet or soiled sheets”.
Reference
Triggle, N. (2016). Dementia patients face ‘Russian roulette’ in hospital. London: BBC Health News, January 18th 2016.
This relates to:
Reference
Shocking variation of hospital care for people with dementia exposed. London [Online]: Alzheimer’s Society, January 18th 2016.
“With a quarter of hospital beds occupied by people with dementia, an estimated £264.2 million of public money is being wasted on poor dementia care (2013/14)”.
See further:
Reference
Fix Dementia Care: the statistics. London [Online]: Alzheimer’s Society, January 18th 2016.
The Alzheimer’s Society’s “Fix Dementia Care” campaign:
Reference
Fix Dementia Care. London: Alzheimer’s Society, January 18th 2016.
The “Fix Dementia Care: Hospitals” Report
The full report is available here:
Reference
Boaden, A. (2016). Fix Dementia Care: Hospitals. London: Alzheimer’s Society, January 15th 2016.
A related BBC News video:
Reference
Brimelow, A. (2016). Dementia patients play ‘Russian roulette’. London: BBC Health News, January 18th 2016.
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