Whatever the details, we need to take immediate action. No elderly man should become more ill in a hospital because no one has time to help him with the water jug.
Alzheimer's Reading Room
 |
| Andrea Gillies |
This time the focus is on those with dementia. It makes depressing reading. The first National Audit of Dementia (pdf), an NHS-funded survey, went into 145 wards of 55 hospitals, interviewed more than 2,200 staff, and observed 105 patients with dementia.
The researchers came across some good practice, but on the whole they were unimpressed, and frequently horrified.
Many staff had no illusions: two-thirds admitted they were insufficiently trained to deal with dementia.
But should a nurse have to be further trained to ensure that an old lady is fed, washed, soothed?
It's hard to escape the conclusion that, unless the postcode lottery pays off, a ward is no longer a place for someone who's immobile, or has trouble with talking and thinking, or struggles with following instructions.
Read More and Comment at the Guardian
| Subscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading Room |
More Insight and Advice for Caregivers
- How Alzheimer's Destroys the Brain -- Video
- Test Your Memory for Alzheimer's (5 Best Self Assessment Tests)
- What is Alzheimer's Disease?
- What is Dementia?
- What’s the Difference Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
- Communicating in Alzheimer's World
- How the Loss of Memory Works in Alzheimer’s Disease, and How Understanding This Could Help You
- Learning How to Communicate with Someone Suffering From Alzheimer's Disease
- Alzheimer's World -- Trying to Reconnect with Someone Suffering from Alzheimer's Disease
- Does the Combination of Aricept and Namenda Help Slow the Rate of Decline in Alzheimer's Patients
- About the Alzheimer's Reading Room
Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room
