What to expect when someone with dementia goes into hospital
“Some things commonly happen to people with any cognitive impairment when they come into hospital and one of those is that they’re very likely to get more confused. That can be because they get something called delirium which is acute, short-term confusion. People with dementia are very likely to get that when they’re physically ill,” explained Jo.
“Home is very familiar, and they have familiar people helping them – it’s usually a very secure environment for a person, mentally. When they come into hospital they can find it very disorientating and it’s hard to hold on to the things that would help them normally. For example, if you’re a bit wobbly on your feet you might use familiar pieces of furniture to get to the toilet but in hospital you don’t have that.
“Families can come in and it seems like their loved one with dementia is ten times worse, it’s really horrible,” Jo added.
Having a relative with dementia can be really hard for young people.
A short animation has been developed by Dementia UK to help children aged 8-12 understand what having dementia means. It aims to help them understand some of the changes in their relative’s memory and behaviour, as well as giving them some practical tips for communicating with someone with dementia and continuing to enjoy quality time with them.
2018 saw Birmingham and Solihull became the second area where Alzheimer’s Society is adopting the new service, Dementia Connect. This cuts through all of the confusion and delay to offer people support that’s tailored to their needs.
It’s been an exciting time as their specialist dementia advisers settle into two roles – one supporting people over the phone, the other able to visit people at home as well.
These two roles allow the service to give people the support they need, when they need it. A home visit can be really helpful, but it isn’t always necessary. Their telephone advisers are very good at giving people the information and advice they need – and identifying when someone could benefit from more. They also make regular ‘keeping in touch’ calls to see how people are doing and deal with any new issues.
What to expect when someone with dementia goes into hospital
