How acute care managers can support patients with dementia

Abstract

Not all hospital staff have had training in dementia care. This article describes how nurse managers in acute settings can prepare them to manage patients with dementia. It includes advice on identifying patients' diagnosis on admission, working with carers and encouraging activity, and emphasises the importance of establishing a rapport with patients.

A qualitative focus group discussion study on the experiences of Certified Nurses in Dementia Nursing related to effective staff education

“…To provide effective and high‐quality education in hospitals, the DCNs in our study sought help from their managers, who are legally and ethically bound to guarantee good care or improve the quality of care. These nursing managers are under pressure to maintain efficiency in acute hospitals (Andrews, ). Therefore, the DCNs in this study explained that their educational activities enabled them to prevent the aggravation of BPSD along with the loss of bodily functions.…”

‘They rush you and push you too much … and you can't really get any good response off them’: A qualitative examination of family involvement in care of people with dementia in acute care

“…The study supports findings from previous research that indicates family carers believe that hospital staff remain unaware of the needs of the older patient with dementia and the need for staff to partner with family in care provision [7–10]. In truth, families are often focused on caring and can be fearful of leaving loved ones in the hospital because of well‐publicised risks, such as medication errors and malnutrition, and of their developing untreated delirium that inevitably leads to greater dependency by the time of discharge [11].…”

Staff perspectives of relationships in aged care: A qualitative approach

“…Development of relationships need not take extensive time. Andrew , for example, argues that all nurses must know how to make ‘three‐minute’ relationships. She suggests that this requires ‘verbal and non‐verbal skills to engage with people rapidly, to put them at ease and communicate with them, focusing all your attention on them, if only for a few minutes’ (p. 20).…”