Rising concerns over care of the elderly

14/10/11

I was particularly interested in reading the results of a report by the Care Quality Commission this week, which found that elderly patients in half of NHS hospitals are not being properly fed or cared for due to a lack of 'kindness and compassion'.

The report found that pensioners, who account for almost half of hospital in-patients, are routinely denied the most basic care because of a culture of neglect among staff; suggesting that this is a concern that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

It revealed that twenty hospitals in England had broken the law by failing to protect the dignity of older patients and ensure they got sufficient food and water. In addition, thirty-five others  subjectto unannounced visits this year, also needed to make improvements, with just 45 out of those 100 involved considered ‘satisfactory’ by the Care Quality Commission.

But what is the underlying problem? Is it a general lack of respect for the elderly, or are nursingstandards too low? Or, could it be the ‘tick box culture’, which is perhaps resultingin nurses spending being forced to spend too much time completing paperwork;time that could be spent with patients?

I have no doubt that nurses and otherhospital staff are under immense pressure, and the majority of them, I’m suredo a very good job in caring for sick people. I do however think that thereneeds to be an investigation into why this is happening, and something needs tobe done to ensure that there is a significant improvement next time round.