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Assessment and management of dementia in the general hospital setting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 July 2014

Inderpal Singh ,
Amrita Varanasi  and
Kathryn Williamson
Inderpal Singh*
Affiliation:
Department of Geriatric Medicine, Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr, Ystrad Mynach, UK
Amrita Varanasi
Affiliation:
Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr, Ystrad Mynach, UK
Kathryn Williamson
Affiliation:
Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr, Ystrad Mynach, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Inderpal Singh, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr, Ystrad Mynach CF82 7GP, UK. Email: [email protected]
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Summary

Populations are ageing worldwide. The prevalence of dementia will rise exponentially with the oldest old the most rapidly growing segment of society. Caring for this ageing population with dementia, many of whom will have multiple chronic and disabling diseases, will be a challenge to healthcare systems, particularly general hospitals. At any one time, a quarter of acute hospital beds in the UK are in use by people with dementia. Delivery of high-quality care to this growing and vulnerable population must be high on any health service agenda.

Current medical training not only generates relatively low numbers of geriatricians and specialists with interest in dementia, but also there is a lack of appropriate training in assessment and management of dementia. There remains huge need for better staff training and support to provide safe, holistic and dignified dementia care. Here we explore various key features for non-specialist assessment and management of older people with dementia in the general hospital setting.

Keywords

agedsecondary carefunctionco-morbiditycognitiondementia
Type
Review Article
Information
Reviews in Clinical Gerontology , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , August 2014 , pp. 205 - 218
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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