A reduction in physical function affected older people’s ability to manage their health

Cancer services for people with dementia must be organised, flexible and offer continuity

Development and validation of a methodology for observing time taken for vital signs

In an often complicated system, nurses need to know what evidence can be trusted to improve practice in acute care

The quality of care for people with dementia in general hospital settings has attracted widespread concern. While organisation-wide strategies are needed to address many of the issues, the nursing role is critical to articulating and promoting good practice. This article focuses on promoting dignity for older people with dementia and offers a number of strategies to help individual nurses and nursing teams reflect on and promote good practice.

<p>Older people are high users of emergency care services, in particular emergency department (ED) and ambulance services (Department of Health (DH) 2007).</p>

<p>THE NEEDS OF OLDER PEOPLE REPRESENT an under-recognised but significant part of the workload of A&amp;E nurses. In 1998, an action research study was commissioned by a large UK trust to review the organisation of care for older people in A&amp;E. The trust, which has a busy A&amp;E dealing with minor and major trauma, has also set up an inpatient specialty, Services for Older People, for acutely ill patients, age 75 and over, with its own specialist wards and staff. The study was initiated after the difficult winter of 1996/97 when the pressure of emergency admissions was high, leading to excessive trolley waits in A&amp;E.</p>