Jo James argues that a thorough early evaluation of an older patient’s condition would have provided a higher standard of care and possibly averted the onset of delirium
This is the first in a short series that presents case study examples of the use of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in different clinical settings. CGA is a holistic assessment model, which is designed to determine a frail older person’s medical and mental health status, as well as functional, social and environmental issues. When applied by nurses, it can enable individualised planning for older people’s health, safety and wellbeing.
This article presents the case of a patient who had been admitted to hospital as an emergency for a suspected exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and subsequently developed a severe episode of delirium. It explores how the use of CGA at the point of her admission would have provided the patient with a higher standard of care and may have prevented her delirium.
Nursing Older People. 28, 2, 16-22. doi: 10.7748/nop.28.2.16.s20
Correspondence Peer reviewThis article has been subject to double-blind review and has been checked using antiplagiarism software
Conflict of interestNone declared
Received: 17 October 2015
Accepted: 28 January 2016
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