RCPsych calls for improved dementia care in hospitals

People with dementia in hospital in England and Wales often do not receive key health assessments, according to the second report of the National Audit of Dementia. Although the audit found that there has been positive change since the first report in 2011, it showed that problems with assessments remain. For instance many patients with dementia develop acute confusion during a stay in hospital, but less than half of the 7,987 patients in the audit sample had been assessed for delirium, and only half had received an assessment of their mental state. The audit report describes these assessment rates as