IF YOU'RE OLD, DON'T GO INTO HOSPITAL.

The government quango responsible for monitoring the performance of hospitals and care homes, the 'Care Quality Commission', has reported that a number of NHS hospitals have given cause for serious concern with regard to the way thay have been treating elderly patients. This is the umpteenth time that this type of concern has been raised and, as usual, there'll be lots of hot air but very little action as a result.

From my own experience, I know very well that elderly patients are poorly served in hospital. Patients who need help with toileting or washing simply have to wait until a care assistant, forget the nurses, they're too busy doing much more important things, can get to them. When breakfast, lunch or dinner arrive, the meals are simply placed in front of the patients, who are then left to get on with it; an hour or so later, the food is removed and, although there are forms to fill in to record what's been eaten, I've seen these completed in a truly mythical fashion. It is rare in the extreme for any staff to take an interest in the patients to the extent of noticing that they may need help or encouragement in eating their meals and it astonishes me that patients don't die from malnutrition on a daily basis. It is, of course, well known that most people lose significant weight when in hospital and this is just accepted as being a consequence of their illnesses; I suspect it's far more a consequence of the largely unappealing nature of the food presented to them and the total lack of concern about whether meals are eaten or not shown by staff.

The staffing of hospital wards, and the modern 'bayed' lay-out, do not lend themselves to providing anything other than the most basic level of care. Wards in which patients are physically fit are not a problem in this respect, but wards with physically dependent patients simply cannot cope with the demands; many make no secret of the fact and actually encourage friends and relatives to help out with tasks such as feeding. In such an environment, is it any wonder that those who experience the poorest levels of care are the elderly ?

The only solution to this problem is to look at the funding issues involved in the NHS. It is never going to be able to provide the level of personal, as well as medical, care that older and less able-bodied patients often need, without deploying greater resources; it makes sense that patients should contribute to the hotel and social care elements of their time in hospital. Putting these 2 issues together could be the start of a resolution but it's doubtful any politician will be brave enough to suggest it.