Role of nursing associates in addressing the needs of people with dementia in hospital

Smith, M; Gill, T

Abstract

It is estimated that people with dementia comprise about one quarter of all inpatients in acute hospital wards, although this could be an underestimate. Healthcare assistants often lack the training and skills, and nurses often lack the time, to provide optimal care for these patients. As a result, the needs of hospital inpatients with dementia are often unmet, they may have suboptimal outcomes compared with inpatients who do not have dementia, and they may experience significantly reduced well-being and quality of life. Nursing associates have a hands-on role in patient care, and their training should equip them with the skills required to overcome communication barriers and identify patients’ needs. This article explores the potential role of nursing associates in addressing the needs of inpatients with dementia.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 20, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jan 27, 2020
• Publication Date: Jan 27, 2020
• Deposit Date: Feb 14, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 14, 2020
• Journal: Nursing Older People
• Print ISSN: 1472-0795
• Electronic ISSN: 2047-8941
• Publisher: RCN Publishing
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 16-20
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.7748/nop.2020.e1231
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.7748/nop.2020.e1231
• Related Public URLs: https://journals.rcni.com/nursing-older-people
• Additional Information: Access Information : Please note that the version accessible here is not the final Version of Record