The Nursing and Midwifery Council have recently published new guidelines for nurses and professional carers of older people on providing compassionate care. This is after research showed that less than half the population thinks the elderly are treated with enough dignity and respect whilst in hospitals or nursing homes.
It has also published guidance for the elderly or their relatives on evaluating their care and ensuring that their basic needs are met.
This is great news - the existence of these guidelines will give those who feel they are receiving substandard care the confidence to a) evaluate their care and experiences and b) to complain to the relevant people and get something done about it.
To learn more about this, see our article "10 questions to ensure your respect and dignity"
I think these guidelines are useful to a point. Unfortunately, most older people living in care homes suffer from confusion. It's very hard to get a reliable idea of what level of care your relative is receiving when s/he can't remember what they ate for lunch an hour ago. As a relative, you can't be there all the time to assess the level of care.
In my view, there's no subsitute for regular visits at different times of day, getting to know the staff in a supportive but inquiring way and generally poking your nose in - literally - in places like the shower room, bathroom, lavatory, kitchen etc. whenever you get the chance.
Posted by: Peregrine Pickles | Mar 29, 2009 at 22:49