Factors associated with shorter length of admission among people with dementia in England and Wales: retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: To identify aspects of the organisation and delivery of acute inpatient services for people with dementia that are associated with shorter length of hospital stay.

Design And Setting: Retrospective cohort study of patients admitted to 200 general hospitals in England and Wales.

Participants: 10 106 people with dementia who took part in the third round of National Audit of Dementia.

Older adult experience of care and staffing on hospital and community wards: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Recent major concerns about the quality of healthcare delivered to older adults have been linked to inadequate staffing and a lack of patient-centred care. Patient experience is a key component of quality care - yet there has been little research on whether and how staffing levels and staffing types affect satisfaction amongst older adult hospital inpatients. This study aimed to evaluate the association between registered nurse and healthcare assistant staffing levels and satisfaction with care amongst older adult hospital inpatients, and to test whether any positive effect of higher staffing levels is mediated by staff feeling they have more time to care for patients.

Delirium screening and mortality in patients with dementia admitted to acute hospitals.

Delirium is associated with increased mortality in older adults. National guidance recommends that all people with dementia who are admitted to hospital are screened for delirium. However, the impact of screening for delirium among inpatients with dementia has not been examined.

Recognition and treatment of depression in older adults admitted to acute hospitals in England.

Levels of awareness and treatment of depression in older adults admitted to acute hospitals are unclear. This study aims to examine the proportion of older adults diagnosed with depression in acute hospitals, treatment, referral, and communication between secondary and primary healthcare services following discharge. Retrospective examination of records of 766 older adults admitted to 27 acute hospitals in England was carried out.

Improving patients' and staff's experiences of acute care.

The aim of this audit was to assess the effect of the Quality Mark programme on the quality of acute care received by older patients by comparing the experiences of staff and older adults before and after the programme. Data from 31 wards in 12 acute hospitals were collected over two stages. Patients and staff completed questionnaires on the perceived quality of care on the ward.

Quality of care for people with dementia in general hospitals: national cross-sectional audit of patient assessment.

There have been recent reports of poor quality care in the National Health Service in the UK, and older people with dementia are particularly vulnerable. This study aims to examine the quality of assessment of people with dementia admitted to hospital. Cross-sectional case-note audit of key physical and psychosocial assessments was carried out in 7,934 people with dementia who were discharged from 206 general hospitals.

Factors affecting care on acute hospital wards.

Aim: To identify positive and negative aspects of the quality of care for older adults admitted to acute hospital wards during the Quality Mark pilot study.

Method: A total of 306 patients and carers and 157 ward staff from 12 wards in six hospitals participated in a pilot study by completing questionnaires about the quality of care on the ward. They stated how much they agreed with a number of statements about care and provided additional free text responses.

Adequacy of training in dementia care for acute hospital staff.

People with dementia are frequently admitted to general wards where their dementia is often unrecognised and related healthcare needs are unaddressed. This article examines how staff view the training they have received in assessing and caring for people with dementia who are admitted to hospital. It reports on the results of the National Audit of Dementia (Care in General Hospitals); staff completed questionnaires reporting the sufficiency of their training in 13 main areas related to dementia care.

Use of continuation and maintenance electroconvulsive therapy: UK national trends.

Background: Continuation and maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) have been used for prophylactic treatment of recurrent depression but are poorly researched and not recommended by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence, UK.

Aims: To document the demographic, clinical, and legal characteristics of patients receiving continuation or maintenance ECT, trends in their use, and whether the 2 types could be distinguished by duration and frequency of application.

Method: Electroconvulsive therapy specialist psychiatrists completed postal questionnaires about its current use and retrospective use over the past decade.