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Care for elderly patients criticised
By: Nigel Hawkes A GOVERNMENT plan to revolutionise care for the elderly was overshadowed yesterday by the publication of a report criticising the standard of nursing for older people in Britain’s hospitals. The report by the Standing Nursing and Midwifery Advisory Committee said that there were “major deficits” in the nursing of elderly people. While in hospital, older patients go hungry and thirsty, are unoccupied and are denied rights to privacy and independence, the report says. The findings, which came on the day that Alan Milburn, the Health Secretary, publicised the National Service Framework for Older People, a plan to end discrimination on grounds of age, were disclosed quietly on the Department of Health website. The report, Caring for Older People: A Nursing Priority, will embarrass the Government because it comes soon after the outcry over “do not resuscitate” notices being attached to patients’ notes without them or their families being informed. Mr Milburn’s plan promises that patients will receive the same treatment, regardless of their age. “Older people should be treated according to their clinical needs and not their age,” he said. He announced that £120 million would be spent on improving Nightingale wards, the open-plan rooms in which elderly patients are often treated. Under the plan, every hospital which treats stroke patients is expected to have a specialised service by April next year. It also covers treatment for falls, mental health, and health promotion in older people. Liam Fox, the Shadow Health Secretary, said that the plan would be ineffective because of “the Government’s complete mishandling of the NHS and long-term care”. |
