A new dementia campaign has seen support from more than 160 MPs including Sharon Hodgson MP for Washington and Sunderland West.
Sharon Hodgson has joined other MPs to launch of Alzheimer’s Society’s new campaign Fix Dementia Care.
The campaign calls for improvements in hospital care for people living with dementia.
MPs gathered in Westminster to call for greater transparency across the NHS on February 10.
This was following an Alzheimer’s Society investigation which found too many people with dementia are falling while in hospital, being discharged at night or being marooned in hospital despite their medical treatment having finished.
Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) carried out by the charity found that in 2014-15, 28 per cent of people over the age of 65 who fell in hospital had dementia – but this was as high as 71 per cent in the worst performing hospital trust.
Out of the 68 trusts that responded, 4,926 people with dementia were discharged between the hours of 11pm and 6am, while in the worst performing hospitals, people with dementia were found to be staying five to seven times longer than other patients over the age of 65.
Sharon Hodgson, MP for Washington and Sunderland South, said: “It is important that good hospital care for people with dementia should never be left to chance.
“Yet, in some hospitals people routinely experience the consequences of poor care with many being discharged from hospital late at night and left to their own devices.
“That is why I support Alzheimer’s Society’s Fix Dementia Care campaign to end the postcode lottery on the quality of hospital care people with dementia face by improving transparency so that we can identify where in our system there are pitfalls, ensuring that patients receive the best care possible.”
George McNamara, head of policy and public affairs at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “We must put a stop to the culture where it’s easier to find out about your local hospital finances than the quality of care you’ll receive if you have dementia.
“We are encouraging everyone to get behind our campaign to improve transparency and raise the bar on quality.”
“Poor care can have devastating, life-changing consequences.
“Becoming malnourished because you can’t communicate to hospital staff that you are hungry, or falling and breaking a hip because you’re confused and no-one’s around to help, can affect whether you stand any chance of returning to your own home or not.”
The campaign is making two recommendations to fix dementia care and the aim is to see hospitals to publish an annual statement of dementia care, which includes feedback from patients with dementia, helping to raise standards of care across the country.
It is also aiming to see the regulators, Monitor and the Care Quality Commission, include standards of dementia care in their assessments.
You can support the Fix Dementia Care campaign by signing up at www.alzheimers.org.uk/fixhospitalcare.