Nursing students: UK hospitals not physically suited to caring for dementia patients

Oct 5 2012

Nursing students who had placements in UK hospitals observed that ward environments were not physically suited to caring for dementia patients and qualified nurses often felt out of their depth when trying to treat such patients. Nurses sometimes  'saw the disease, not the patient', students reported. As a result patients were not always treated with dignity and there were challenges to basic care such as nutrition.

The organisational culture and physical environments of hospitals are not suited to caring for people with dementia, according to nursing students undergoing training placements.

Students described how the priority to move patients through the system quickly led to a lack of understanding of patients' needs and could compromise their dignity.

Staff also seemed to struggle with basic care demands such as nutrition and did not like caring for patients with dementia because they felt 'out of their depth'.

Writing in the journal Nursing Older People, Leslie Baillie, Janet Cox and Jane Merritt of the University of Bedfordshire said the students in their study also reported lack of guidance from qualified staff.

'Some hospital staff were unable to see beyond the person's dementia and spending time with patients clashed with an organisational culture where speed, acute care needs and physical treatment took priority,' they said.

Students also reported:

• Patients could not walk freely and safely in the hospitals because
  of the open nature of acute wards.
• Acute busy wards were 'far too scary for someone with dementia to
  make sense of'.
• They struggled to ensure patients with dementia had enough to eat
  and drink.
• Sometimes patients with dementia were left until last at mealtimes
  'because they took longer and by then their food was cold'.

The authors recommend the development of more dementia-friendly hospital environments and better training for staff. Students need to be well prepared and supported to nurture confidence and positive attitudes towards caring for people with dementia in any setting, they add.

Source: http://www.nursingolderpeople.co.uk