Dementia care in hospitals needs more resources

Now, Sandra, you know, I know for a fact that there are specialist dementia nurses in hospitals. Everyone coming into the hospital has to have a dementia screening. But despite all that, in terms of looking after patients with dementia, what was your experience in terms of regular visits? Dementia nurses? I've never met one. They do training and help and facilitate and they should be made aware if a patient comes in with dementia. Your experience of ward care in a difficult dementia patient? It was appalling. Not enough time and not enough resources? No, and they didn't make themselves clear. They were specialised in that area. She didn't want to do it as far as they were concerned. She didn't want to do it. She didn't have to do it. Finished. I mean, we had the issue with her pills. She stopped taking them. She got her aid, so she stopped them. And the nurse said, well, she won't take her pills. So I said, well, just leave them and go back. Cause we had it at home, leave her, you know, don't sit there and say, you've got to do this because it doesn't work. With a dementia patient, that will not work because they would dig their heels in and that is it, you won't get through anyway. So don't argue, walk away, go back. She used to take them. And all I got was, well, she won't take them. and we don't have to, we can't force them on her, so she's not having them. And that was it, that was that finished. Well, if that's a trained nurse, I'd like to know where she got her training from. I think you've got, you know, trained nurses on a surgical ward doing surgical things, but I think the message I'm getting from you is that a dementia patient is a project in themselves, and they, you know, the amount of nursing and support and support and attention they need is huge. Specialised. Huge and specialised. Because you've got your patients that need the medical care, which is important. Dementia patients, whilst there is any medical issues cared for, the dementia you can't do anything about. And I can understand the frustration with the hospital when they've got a ward full of dementia patients and then they've got other people that are surgically or medically, I can understand that. So really there ought to be a separate issue altogether. Dementia should be set aside and looked after differently. I think to be fair, it is and there are systems, but I think the amount of resource they need is probably hugely more. Well it's massive isn't it and it's getting worse because there's more dementia now than there's ever been or it's been diagnosed better but it's not you know it's not really anybody's fault it just needs thinking about for the care of the people and you do need the people that know about it because if you don't know about it nurses get uptight and get frustrated And they can get quite sharp, but that doesn't help with dementia patients. It's the awareness of what you're dealing with, I think, and then that engenders empathy. Yeah, it's time. And it's time consuming. It's not an easy thing. It takes 24-7. It's hard work. Thank you.