Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Doctors have criticised the chief executive of the NHS Commissioning Board for calling hospitals ?very bad places? for the elderly, saying Sir David Nicholson's comments could result in nurses treating such patients worse.
They say research shows that staff who believe old people should be in other places, such as care homes, do not treat them with dignity.
In an interview with The Independent on Monday, Sir David said hospitals were ?very bad places for old, frail people?.
He added: "We need to find alternatives. We need to put as much focus on that as we do on telling nurses to be more compassionate.?
But Professor Paul Knight, president of the British Geriatrics Society, which represents doctors who specialise in the care of the elderly, said: ?It is true that hospitals can be dangerous places but it is a myth that older people should not be in hospital.?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...iefs-comments-jeopardise-care-of-elderly.html
They say research shows that staff who believe old people should be in other places, such as care homes, do not treat them with dignity.
In an interview with The Independent on Monday, Sir David said hospitals were ?very bad places for old, frail people?.
He added: "We need to find alternatives. We need to put as much focus on that as we do on telling nurses to be more compassionate.?
But Professor Paul Knight, president of the British Geriatrics Society, which represents doctors who specialise in the care of the elderly, said: ?It is true that hospitals can be dangerous places but it is a myth that older people should not be in hospital.?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...iefs-comments-jeopardise-care-of-elderly.html