Acute Hospital Quality Improvement of Dementia Care
In late 2019, the National Dementia Office ran a competition for acute hospitals to improve their care of people living with dementia.
The grant call details are below.
View a summary of the successful hospital's projects below as well as a summary of reported progress as of early 2021.
Acute hospital dementia QI projects interim reports
2020-2021 was a challenging period for acute hospital staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as many staff were redeployed, all staff were busy, and most proposed refurbishments were delayed. However, despite these challenges, 19 of the 21 acute hospital dementia QI projects proceeded. Some of the progress achieved to date includes:
- Baseline environmental audits have been completed and many sites have progressed with dementia-inclusive painting and signage improvements
- Equipment to increase independence has been installed, such as handrails, appropriate chairs, etc.
- Dementia quality improvement teams have convened, and dementia leaders and champions have been identified
- Staff training in delirium and dementia care has been delivered in many sites
- Resources to support meaningful activity have been installed, such as activity boxes
The dedication and resilience of all involved in the dementia QI projects is to be commended. Indeed, some sites have increased their plans and scope due to the emerging issues of providing quality dementia care during the COVID-19 pandemic, while others have leveraged donations and other grants to increase their scope of change.
A summary of the final reports from each site will be available in early 2022.
The following links may be helpful for any hospital considering quality improvement in the area of dementia care