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Showing results for tags 'Dementia'.
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Content Article
The haunting brain science of Long Covid (Stat,16 February 2023)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Blogs
In this article for Stat, E. Wesley Ely, Professor of Medicine and Critical Care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, looks at the impact Covid-19 and Long Covid can have on people's brains. He speaks to people with Long Covid who have experienced a sharp decline in brain function, leading to them losing their jobs, struggling to hold a conversation and in some cases developing early-onset dementia. He also highlights biomedical research that has shown changes to the brain in people with confirmed Covid-19 infections, including a reduction in grey matter, problems in the cells lining the blood vessels and impaired cellular metabolism in the frontal lobe six months following acute Covid. -
News Article
Coronavirus: Charity seeks judicial review on care home visit guidance
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A dementia charity is seeking a judicial review of the government guidance on care home visits. John's Campaign says many care homes in England are still refusing regular face-to-face visits, often essential for people with severe dementia. Dr Angela McIntyre, a retired doctor backing the campaign, has not seen her 92-year-old mother since March. A Department of Health spokesman said: "We know limiting visits in care homes has been difficult for many families." He added: "Our first priority is to prevent infections in care homes, and this means that visiting policy should still be restricted with alternatives sought wherever possible. "Visiting policies should be tailored by the individual care home and take into account local risks in their area." But John's Campaign believes the guidance does not take into account how important visits from family members are for dementia patients and believes it could be in breach of the law. Read full story Source: BBC Health, 3 September 2020 -
News Article
Coronavirus: Dementia patients 'deteriorating' without family visits
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Relatives of care home residents with dementia should be treated as key workers, leading charities say. In a letter to the health secretary, they write that the care given by family members is "essential" to residents' mental and physical health. They argue the current limits on visitors have had "damaging consequences" and they want visits to resume safely, with relatives given the same access to care homes and coronavirus testing as staff. Signed by the bosses of leading charities including Dementia UK and the Alzheimer's Society, the letter calls on the government to "urgently" address what it calls the "hidden catastrophe" happening in care homes. The charities say that this "enforced separation" has caused a "deterioration" in residents' mental and physical health, particularly for those living with dementia - who make up more than 70% of the population of care homes. Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 July 2020 -
News Article
Extra 10,000 dementia deaths in England and Wales in April
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
There were almost 10,000 unexplained extra deaths among people with dementia in England and Wales in April, according to official figures that have prompted alarm about the severe impact of social isolation on people with the condition. The data, from the Office for National Statistics, reveals that, beyond deaths directly linked to COVID-19, there were 83% more deaths from dementia than usual in April, with charities warning that a reduction in essential medical care and family visits were taking a devastating toll. “It’s horrendous that people with dementia have been dying in their thousands,” said Kate Lee, chief executive officer at Alzheimer’s Society. “We’ve already seen the devastating effect of coronavirus on people with dementia who catch it, but our [research] reveals that the threat of the virus extends far beyond that.” The charity thinks the increased numbers of deaths from dementia are resulting partly from increased cognitive impairment caused by isolation, the reduction in essential care as family carers cannot visit, and the onset of depression as people with dementia do not understand why loved ones are no longer visiting, causing them to lose skills and independence, such as the ability to speak or even stopping eating and drinking. Another factor may be interruptions to usual health services, with more than three-quarters of care homes reporting that GPs have been reluctant to visit residents. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 June 2020 -
News ArticleOnce COVID-19 seeps into care homes, it is a monumentally difficult job to protect the residents, writes Sky's Alex Crawford. We will look back at this appalling, tragic episode in our global history, and our children and grandchildren will ask us: "Did that really happen? Did you really leave the most vulnerable of our society - the elderly, the infirm, the defenceless, the muddled, sick and weak - in care homes, shut away from their closest relatives? Did you leave them to be ravaged by a deadly virus, and do very little to help them?" Because that is what's happening right now. There are elderly people - many with Alzheimer's, many with dementia, many frail - in thousands of residential homes up and down Britain, and they are very much at risk. Read full story Source: Sky News, 11 Aril 2020
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News ArticleA police investigation has been launched into an alleged assault against an elderly patient with Alzheimer’s by NHS staff at the troubled East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust. The Independent can reveal nurses and carers at the William Harvey Hospital have been suspended after being filmed by hospital security staff for eight minutes allegedly holding down the man’s arms and legs as well as his face while they inserted a catheter. The trust has confirmed it has launched an investigation and alerted police after the incident on 15 December on the Cambridge J ward at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford. A spokesperson “apologised unreservedly” for the incident and said it was being treated with the “utmost seriousness”. A whistleblower spoke out to The Independent about the incident, fearing it was being covered up by the trust after staff were told “don’t discuss it, don’t refer to it at all”. The senior clinician said they had decided to go public after the “horrific” incident because of the trust’s toxic culture and concerns for the welfare of other patients on wards. Read full story Source: The Independent, 7 February 2020
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News Article
Dementia patients being 'dumped in hospital'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Dementia patients are being dumped in hospitals in England because of a lack of community care, a charity says. The Alzheimer's Society called for action, highlighting data showing one in 10 dementia patients spends over a month in hospital after being admitted. The figures also suggested the overall number of emergency admissions among people with dementia is rising - with some patients yo-yoing back and forth. Ministers said they were "determined" to tackle the problems. Central to this, the government said, would be plans for reforming the social care system, which encompasses care home places and support in people's homes. Alzheimer's Society Chief Executive Jeremy Hughes said people were falling through the "cracks of our broken social care system". "People with dementia are all too often being dumped in hospital and left there. Many are only admitted because there's no social care support to keep them safe at home. They are commonly spending more than twice as long in hospital as needed, confused and scared." Read full story Source: BBC News, 22 January 2020 -
News Article
Dementia patient’s family feel let down over death
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The daughter of a man with dementia who died after being pushed by another patient in a care facility, has said her family has been let down by authorities. John O'Reilly died a week after sustaining a head injury at a dementia care unit in County Armagh. The 83-year-old was pushed twice by the same patient in the days leading up to the fatal incident. His family were not made aware of this until after his death. On 4 December 2018, Mr O'Reilly was pushed by another dementia patient causing him to hit his head off a wall. His family have said he was pushed with such force that it left a dent in the wall. He was admitted to Craigavon Area Hospital with severe head injuries and died a week later. Last week, an inquest heard that the dementia patient who pushed Mr O'Reilly had a history of aggressive behaviour linked to dementia. The Southern Trust is carrying out as Serious Adverse Incident (SAI) investigation into Mr O'Reilly's death. Maureen McGleenon said: "Our experience of the SAI process has been dreadful. In our view it allows the trust to park the fact that something catastrophic has happened to a family. We were told it would be a 12-week process. It's over a year now and we've expended so much energy trying to figure out this process and find things out for ourselves." She added: "The system just knocks you down and makes you want to give up." "We'll never get over what happened to dad and we can't give up on trying to understand it." Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 January 2020 -
Content ArticleAs well as having a significant negative impact on the health and wellbeing of people with dementia, falls increase service costs related to staff time, paramedic visits, and A&E admissions. This study in the Journal of Patient Safety examined whether a remote digital vision-based monitoring and management system had an impact on the prevention of falls. The authors concluded that a contact-free, remote digital vision-based monitoring and management system reduced falls, fall-related injuries, emergency services time, clinician time, and disruptive night time observations. This benefits clinicians by allowing them to undertake other clinical duties and promotes the health and safety of patients who might normally experience injury-related stress and disruption to sleep.
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Content ArticleThe 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.
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Content ArticleThis is the report of an inquiry conducted by the Health and Social Care Select Committee in 2020/21 which considers how the social care system is supporting those living with dementia. In the report the Committee make the case that the UK government’s plans for the health and care levy provides insufficient funding for social care over the next three years.
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Content ArticleIn this blog for CNN health, Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken discuss the exponential increase in the prescription of the drug Nuedexta to care home residents with dementia in the US. A CNN investigation found that the number of Nuedexta pills dispensed to care home facilities increased by nearly 400% in four years, prompting concerns that it is being inappropriately prescribed. The drug is designed to treat a rare disorder called pseudobulbar affect (PBA) which occurs in only 5% patients with dementia. State regulators have found doctors inappropriately diagnosing nursing home residents with PBA to justify using Nuedexta to treat patients whose confusion and agitation make them difficult to manage. Analysis by CNN also found that nearly half the Nuedexta claims filed with Medicare in 2015 came from doctors who had received money or other perks from the manufacturer.
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Content ArticleThe Alzheimer’s Society has published three reports on dementia diagnosis to identify and address the challenges faced by people accessing a dementia diagnosis.
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Content Article
Alzheimer's Society: 'This is me' leaflet
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Dementia
'This is me' is a simple leaflet for anyone receiving professional care who is living with dementia or experiencing delirium or other communication difficulties. 'This is me' can be used to record details about a person who can't easily share information about themselves. For example, it can be used to record: a person’s cultural and family background important events, people and places from their life their preferences and routines. -
Content Article
The 21 September 2021 marks World Alzheimer’s Day. This is an international campaign to raise awareness and highlight issues faced by people affected by dementia (dementia is an umbrella term for a number of diseases that affect the brain, with Alzheimer’s disease its most common cause). In this interview, Patient Safety Learning speaks to Alison Keizer, a Mental Health Nurse and trust-wide Dementia Lead, and Fran Hamilton, Occupational Therapist and Deputy Dementia Lead, at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, about the patient safety issues affecting patients with dementia and how they can be supported to reduce risk. -
Content ArticleJulia’s mum, Gladys, lived with vascular dementia. She was a bubbly, social woman and her care replicated that. The support Gladys received was exceptional, and now Julia would like to help families, not as lucky as her own, to receive the same. Read Julia's story.
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Content Article
The theme for this year’s World Health Day (7 April) is building a fairer and healthier world for everyone. Making sure all patients can access and understand healthcare information is absolutely key to this. In this interview, anaesthetist Rachael Grimaldi tells us about CardMedic, the organisation she founded to empower staff and patients to communicate across any barrier. Rachael explains how their tools can be used to support vulnerable groups and reduce inequalities. -
Content ArticleStudents learn about medication and non-medication strategies for reducing symptoms of depression and other neuropsychiatric symptoms (e.g. agitation, anxiety) in people with dementia. While non-medication strategies are often emphasised as being preferable, often we lack the time and resources to facilitate their implementation. There is also a sense that people believe that medications worked better—even though we don’t really know if this is true since studies comparing medication to non-medication strategies are rare. The problem with prescribing medications in this patient population is that medications are associated with potentially catastrophic side effects (e.g. falls and fractures). Jennifer Watt and Zahra Goodarzi undertook a research project looking at the comparative efficacy of interventions for reducing symptoms of depression in people with dementia. Based on their clinical experience as geriatricians, they hypothesised that non-medication strategies could effectively reduce symptoms of depression because they are addressing its underlying causes.
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Content ArticleAntipsychotic drugs are most commonly prescribed for behavioural and psychological symptoms, such as aggression or hallucinations, in people with dementia. This webpage from the Alzheimer's Society provides information on the prescription of these medications for people living with dementia, their potential side effects, and tips for carers when discussing these treatments with healthcare professionals.
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Content ArticlePublished at the halfway point of the Global action plan on the public health response to dementia 2017 – 2025, this report from the World Health Organization assesses the actions taken by Member States, WHO and civil society since the adoption of this plan and identifies barriers to its implementation. The report also includes estimates on dementia burden and costs globally based on WHO’s Global Health Estimates 2019 and the Global Burden of Disease study 2019.
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Content ArticleThis project, led by Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, focused on acute mental health care and dementia care pathways across the Eastern region’s five mental health trusts. It aimed to improve patient safety in mental health care by addressing teamwork and communication issues that can affect the safety and effectiveness of care, and patient experience. Clinical teams were trained in system safety assessment (SSA) and human factors (HF).
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Content ArticleThis toolkit has been developed to inform improvement work in inpatient and residential settings which support people with dementia. It provides guidance on the steps needed to organise and manage an improvement project, how to utilise the experiences of people affected by dementia to develop improvement priorities and shares work and interventions by teams across Scotland.
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Content Article
Inappropriate prescribing during a pandemic: dementia and antipsychotics
Anonymous posted an article in Dementia
Back in February, the team at Patient Safety Learning highlighted how the number of antipsychotic medication prescriptions for people living with dementia had increased in care settings. What’s worrying, is these prescriptions can be administered inappropriately and cause tremendous harm. This is one family's pandemic story. -
Content ArticleThe Alzheimer’s Society has supported the development of Jelly Drops, bite-sized sweets designed to increase your water intake. Find out how they've been helping people during the pandemic.
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Content ArticleDementia can have a significant impact on a person’s daily life, including how well they function within their home. Memory issues or problems recognising and interpreting the objects around them can cause the person frustration or create safety issues. Dementia UK have produced a leaflet with tips and guidance on how to make the home more safe for someone with dementia.
