Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital care for people with dementia: Feedback from carers/families and hospital leads for dementia (8 October 2020)

Summary

The National Audit of Dementia (NAD) collected feedback between June and July 2020 to examine how the pandemic has affected hospital care for people with dementia. This report presents the findings from surveys completed by patients, their carers and hospital dementia leads.

Content

The report highlights difficulties experienced by people with dementia in hospital during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, including:

• visiting restrictions, which led to isolation, loneliness and lack of stimulation.
• frequent bed moves and disrupted continuity of care.
• communication difficulties exacerbated by staff wearing PPE.
• loss of specialist staff due to redeployment, sickness and shielding.

It also highlights changes implemented as as result of the pandemic that have resulted in care improvements, including:

• new methods of joint working between services.
• the creation of dedicated family liaison teams.
• making some patient follow-up virtual, resulting in quicker responses.