"Lack of undertstanding an dpoor prcesses"

The Matron for Health Care of the Elderly has responded to say:

Our usual practice for decision-making for any patient is to discuss with them and family (where present and patient happy to do so). If a patient does have a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health & Welfare, documentation confirming details of the LPA needs to be produced in order for us to legally use this person for decision-making on behalf of an individual. If there is no Lasting Power of Attorney and the patient lacks mental capacity for decisions, then the clinical team will make Best Interest decisions – complying with the Mental Capacity Act. Where relatives are long-distance, this is more difficult – but telephone conversations will enable family input.

All areas have improved in care of people with Dementia – with processes for assessment, identification and person-centred care. We have implemented national standards as recommended by the Alzheimer’s society and have made ongoing improvements in the three yearly National Audit of Dementia care in hospitals. The Chief Executive and Trust Board are highly committed to making improvements to care and services for people with Dementia in hospital. I am sorry that your mother did not experience the high quality care we would aim to give people with Dementia. Our clinical assessments include assessment of cognitive function and should have identified if your mother had any memory problems; if she has a diagnosis of Dementia this should have been identified from the GP and we would then ensure this is communicated to the clinical teams looking after your mother.

The Healthcare of the Elderly wards have all made good progress with implementing a range of improvements to the care of people with Dementia in hospital. If your mother was on one of these specialist wards, the Matron for Healthcare of Elderly would be only too happy to look into the details of your concerns – as we would want to get the care of a 91 lady with dementia personal to her specific needs and in line with her normal routines

Should you wish us to investigate your concerns in more detail, please contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 01752 439884 or 01752 432564. Alternatively, please email the team at: plh-tr.PALS@nhs.net