Having read the reports and articles , I wanted to pass this on to you in the hope we can turn it into a positive.
A positive for both patients, families and staff.
I fully believe in support and encouragement, in order to maintain dignity and a quality of life deserved to all of us.
Part of that is ensuring knowledge of the condition..in this case Dementia… is increased.
During my time as a carer it was quite often the case, of only understanding a situation once you were in visit. We are all unique, and effects are individual , however, awareness of even the basics is essential and it would be beneficial for all care workers to recieve a lot more information with in their introductory training period.
Thankfully, information can be accessed a lot easier these days…’t’internet’ can be an invaluable source!
So, back to the investigation….
Here are few statistics found by an Alzheimer’s Society investigation. www.alzheimers.org.uk
The statistics
There are over 700,000 people with dementia in England, with this figure expected to increase to around 850,000 by 2021.
In a 2015 poll of over 570 carers, families and friends of people with dementia:
- Only 2% said that in their experience all hospital staff understood the specific needs of people with dementia
- 57% per cent said they felt the person they care for was not treated with understanding and dignity in hospital
- 90% per cent said they felt the person with dementia became more confused while in hospital
- 92% per cent thought hospital environments were frightening for the person with dementia.
Admissions
- Only 69% of hospital trusts are properly screening patients over 75 for dementia on admission, despite being offered financial incentives to do so.
Falls
Inconsistent hospital recording of the numbers of people with dementia who have fallen means this data was only available for a quarter of hospitals, but even in this small sample 6,834 falls were reported last year. In these hospitals an average of 28.3% of people aged over 65 who had a fall were people with dementia, but these numbers were as high as 52.2% to 70.6% in the three worst performing hospitals.
Length of stay
On average, people with dementia spend nearly four times as long in hospital following a fall and the resulting frailty from a fall and an extended stay in hospital can increase the likelihood of them being unable to return home.
There have been recommendations proposed to address this…
Our recommendations
Hospitals have a duty to be transparent and accountable to their patients, and to continually monitor and improve dementia care.
While there are notable examples of excellent care across the country, the difference from one hospital to the next is far too great and there is inconsistent understanding of the needs of people with dementia.
Our campaign is making the following recommendations to fix dementia care:
- All hospitals to publish an annual statement of dementia care, which includes feedback from patients with dementia, helping to raise standards of care across the country
- The regulators, Monitor and the Care Quality Commission to include standards of dementia care in their assessments
During 2016 , the Alzheimers Society is calling on people to back the FIX DEMENTIA CARE campaign.
This campaign will look at the quality of care people with dementia receive in three key care settings: hospital, care homes and in the home.
We’re campaigning to end this lottery of care. We want all hospitals to publish an annual ‘dementia statement’ setting out the quality of dementia care they provide. This will arm patients with information about their local hospital and drive improvements throughout the system.
What can you do?
Join the campaign. Take action. We need your help to fix dementia care.
Send a message to Simon Stevens the CEO of NHS England. Tell him to make sure all hospitals publish an annual dementia statement.
Find out more at alzheimers.org.uk/fixcampaign
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