Dementia treatment concerns raised

Press Association – 

Concerns have been raised that elderly people with dementia in a Glasgow hospital are not being treated with "dignity and respect".

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) also highlighted a problem with "boarding" at the Victoria Infirmary, saying it had been told there had been 162 cases in one month where patients were moved from one ward to another that was not as well suited to their needs.

The HIS went on to reveal some of the Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation documentation (DNACPR) at the hospital had been "completed incorrectly".

Theresa Fyffe, of the Royal College of Nursing Scotland, said the report "should further increase the pressure on NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to urgently tackle the problems it has with boarding and improve the way older people are treated".

Hospital inspectors said that patients in some wards had " limited access to shower and bath facilities", claiming there was one ward where they witnessed patients "using basins next to their bed due to lack of washing facilities".

They also saw " several patients wearing hospital gowns in the ward areas", with the inspectors' report adding that "nursing staff told us that this was because these patients did not have their own day or night clothes".

In the Lomond View ward, which mainly treats patients with dementia, inspectors had " particular concerns about patient care".

The report revealed inspectors saw " several examples where we were concerned that staff were not treating patients with the dignity and respect we would expect", including patients not being dressed in their own clothes and walking around the ward in hospital gowns which "do not adequately protect a patient's dignity".

In addition, inconti nence aids and cleansing foam were kept in full view at the end of a patient's bed while the report added a large number of patients were sitting in a small lounge area or the dining area for "long periods with very little stimulation or interactions with staff".

The inspectors saw staff " pulling a patient to the toilet in a chair from the sitting room" and observed staff " not speaking with patients when helping them with a cup of tea".

But HIS said when inspectors went back to the hospital in May they had " observed all patients being treated with dignity, with staff giving time to promote independence".

The report added that on this occasion "all patients were appropriately dressed, with fluids within reach where appropriate, patients in bed had nurse call bells within reach and no inappropriate items such as incontinence aids were seen at the bedside".

HIS also raised concerns about the practice of "boarding" at the hospital, saying that while NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's policy states that patients with cognitive impairment are not boarded, staff had "told us that this is not always possible".

The inspectors' report stated: "We were told that boarding takes place across the hospital. We were told 162 patients were boarded within the last month

"There did not appear to be an effective system to prevent patients being boarded in the hospital. During the inspection, one ward we inspected had at least 12 patients boarded out to other wards in the previous day."

Inspectors reviewed four DNACPR forms during the visit and found two had been completed incorrectly and did "not document whether discussions had taken place with the patient or their families about the DNACPR decision".

Ms Fyffe stated: " Today's report comes on the back of a damning report into the Southern General last month, so NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have clearly got some serious issues to address if they are going to consistently improve standards of care for older people.

"Boarding means that people do not receive the right care from the right people because they can't have a bed in the ward that they need, so it's extremely bad for patient care."

"T here is no excuse for a nurse not to treat patients with dignity, whatever the circumstances.

"Any instances of poor care should be tackled straight away so that all patients receive the high quality care that they deserve, even in challenging situations."

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/dementia-treatment-concerns-raised-152006036.html