Challenge on Dementia – can we reduce unnecessary hospital admissions?

Earlier this month, Jane Ellison MP, the Minister for Public Health, confirmed that an estimated 25 per cent of hospital beds in England are occupied by people living with dementia.

With pressures on overstretched hospitals mounting, and tightening public spending at the top of the Government’s agenda, a solution is needed to ensure this doesn’t continue to happen unnecessarily.

Not only will it ease budget constraints but, more importantly, it will benefit the patients themselves too.

As the environment is an extremely important factor to consider, it is widely agreed that hospitals are not suitable places to treat people living with dementia. Hospital visits can make individuals more confused than usual, as people may not understand why they are there. People sometimes find wards loud and unfamiliar.

This is not the only case against admitting people living with dementia to hospital. Government departments are facing cuts, whilst they try to save funds totalling £20 billion.

Although there have been pledges to ring fence the NHS budget, more money is desperately needed to ease pressures on an already overstretched medical workforce.

Reducing unplanned or unnecessary emergency admissions of people living with dementia to hospitals, would therefore not only save money, but would also enhance the wellbeing of people living with dementia. The Government has started to take action to end this unnecessary practice. In February, The Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020 was published – building on the previous Challenge on Dementia 2012-2015.

The report highlighted the improvements to care needed by 2020 to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions for people living with dementia. This includes:

- General practitioners (GPs) playing a leading role in ensuring coordination and continuity of care for people living with dementia, as part of the existing commitment that from 1 April 2015 everyone will have access to a named GP with overall responsibility and oversight for their care.

- Every person diagnosed with dementia having meaningful care - in accordance with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Quality Standards - following their diagnosis, which supports them and those around them.

- Receiving information on what post-diagnosis services are available locally and how these can be accessed, for example, through an annual ‘information prescription’.

- Access to relevant advice and support following diagnosis. The recommendations show an effort by to ensure the appropriate care, support and advice is given from the outset, by GPs and local services – taking pressure off hospitals and emergency services. Whilst the recommendations have been welcomed, organisations such as Alzheimer’s Society are calling for greater support, predominantly from the public, through the use of campaigns such as World Alzheimer’s Day.

This year, World Alzheimer’s Day was held on the 21st September. The day aims to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s and in particular, the campaign encourages people all around the world to learn to spot the signs of dementia, reducing stigma and increasing understanding.

Raising awareness of dementia in our communities will be crucial to not only help reduce the loneliness felt by many people living with dementia, but also ensure that those who are more likely to come into contact with people living with dementia, hospital staff, for example, are more readily able to recognise the signs of dementia effectively. Whilst the Government has recognised the need for a solution, it is yet to be seen whether their proposals, aimed at providing care locally, will reduce the number of hospital beds that people living with dementia occupy.

The Government should consider the benefits of campaigns and initiatives, such as World Alzheimer’s Day and Alzheimer Society’s Dementia Friends, which aim to create more understanding amongst the British public towards people with living dementia. A responsive general public, who are able to identify their needs, so that carers and medical staff can then provide the appropriate care, in a more suitable environment, might have greater positive effect.