Hospital dementia care 'lacking'
Hospitals in England and Wales are failing to provide good enough care to dementia patients, an audit has shown.
The review by the Royal College of Psychiatrists found many
patients were not getting the support on nutrition and mental
health that they should.
It suggested much of this was down to a lack of training - just
one in 20 hospitals insisted on staff taking part in compulsory
training.
Ministers said the problems were shocking and must be
tackled.
One in four hospitals beds are estimated to be occupied by a
dementia patient at any one time.
But the review of nearly 8,000 case notes and more than 200
hospitals found a series of deficiencies in care.
Just a fifth of hospitals had a system in place to ensure that
staff knew which patients had dementia and how it affected
them.
What was more, a third of patients did not have a nutritional
assessment during admission, while just 41% were given a formal
mental test - both of which are considered good practice in
dementia care.
Delays were also reported in accessing specialist psychiatry
services, which can help with issues such as medicine
management.
A third of patients had not been referred within 96 hours.
Training
The review team is due to make recommendations about what should
be done. It is thought likely this will include a call for
hospitals to provide mandatory training to staff because of the
rising rates of dementia.
About 750,000 people have the condition currently, but this
figure is predicted to more than double in the next 40 years.
Professor Peter Crome, who chaired the committee who carried out
the audit, said care needed to improve.
"There is still a reluctance by clinicians and managers to
accept that the care of this most vulnerable group of patients is a
core function of acute hospitals. This must change."
The findings echo recent reports by the King's Fund health think
tank and Alzheimer's Society.
Care Service Minister Paul Burstow said: "There can be no
excuses for these shocking findings. We know what good quality
dementia care looks like. None of this is rocket science. There
needs to be senior staff leadership on dementia in every hospital
to make it a reality."
Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, said:
"We know hospital staff want to do a good job but without training
and support they are being prevented from providing good quality
dementia care."
By Nick Triggle Health reporter, BBC News
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11999525