Hospitals
accused of neglect in feeding elderly
By HELEN PUTTICK, The Herald
February 3, 2003
HOSPITALS are failing to feed elderly people properly, according
to leading charities.
The charities blamed the drive to change nurses' training and
deliver hi-tech medicine on a strict budget, which, they said, meant
less emphasis on basic care for the elderly.
Maureen O'Neill, director of Age Concern Scotland, said the
government's attempt to have the best drugs, technology and clinical
training had been prioritised too far over ensuring the more
personal and simple welfare of the frail.
In an interview to mark the charity's 60th anniversary, she said
uneaten meals were re-moved from elderly patients' bedsides without
checks on why they had not had the food. She said elderly stroke
patients could end up not eating because meals were placed out of
their reach, or they could not use a fork, and no-one asked what
problems they were having.
Other key care organisations backed her stance.
Professor Debbie Tolson, Scotland's only professor of
gerontological (elderly) nursing, questioned whether Scotland's
nurses were given adequate training to deal with the elderly even
though they make up some 65% of the adults using acute hospital
services.
Mrs O'Neill said stories such as the uneaten meals were
"very common" among pensioners in touch with Age Concern.
She said the training of nurses had changed, equipping them with
medical skills but undervaluing the importance of their bedside
manner. "You can have all these standards in the world for the
treatment ... but if no-one takes time to make sure you have got a
drink and cares about why your daughter or husband has not turned up
to visit, then what is the price?"
In Scotland, at least £115m was spent on medical research in the
current financial year. Care organisations do not want to see less
invested in finding cures, but feel more should be spent ensuring
basic welfare needs are also met.
Mrs O'Neill said "there needs to be an equal emphasis on
allowing that balance between being very hi-tech and providing
sufficient TLC."
Other organisations including Help the Aged in Scotland and the
Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Scotland agreed caring needs to
become a higher priority, saying nurse shortages created a pressured
environment at the expense of the human touch. Elizabeth Duncan, of
Help the Aged, described the neglect of simple needs like providing
frail patients with water to drink as worrying.
Mrs O'Neill said trainee nurses now sat through more academia,
but "I would like to see equal emphasis on the personal
elements of care ... Training has gone too far towards medical and
technical skills and further away from enabling staff to show
TLC."
Professor Tolson said re-search since the 1980s had
"questioned the adequacy of the basic preparation of nurses to
care for older people", adding: "I suspect it has not
particularly improved." She blamed lack of staff but said work
on the problem has begun with a leaflet on nutrition for the frail
widely distributed.
The Scottish Executive said an expert group on the issue found
older people were "generally satisfied with their care"
and there had been roadshows to stress to staff the importance of
good nutritional care for older people and an investment of around
£750,000 in training packs for nurses.
The Royal College of Nursing said: "We are exploring ways to
increase the number of nurses working in Scotland to promote better
patient care."
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