An interim report published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists has identified that 95% of hospitals do not have mandatory training in dementia for all staff.
The National Audit on Dementia, commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership, examined the care provided by 206 hospitals across England and Wales to 7,900 patients. This research echoes Alzheimer’s Society’s recent “Counting the Cost” report, which found that a third of patients had not received an assessment of their nutritional status. Malnutrition and dehydration can have a serious impact on the symptoms of dementia and people’s physical health. Commenting on the findings, Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Society, said: “When a quarter of hospital beds are occupied by people with dementia it is unacceptable that so many hospitals are failing to train their staff. Assessing someone’s nutritional status is also vital if we are to stop people getting worse in hospital rather than better. 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.” The latest King’s Fund report says that £300 million could be saved by doing better things for people with dementia in hospitals. Hospitals need to commit to reducing the length of stay for people with dementia and reinvest these savings in workforce development and more appropriate care in the community. The audit found that 80% of hospitals did not have a system in place to ensure ward staff were aware that a person has dementia. People with dementia can become agitated and confused when they are in an unfamiliar environment and it is this behaviour that nurses can find challenging – despite this, only 35% had a strategy in place to address these symptoms.
