Completely satisfied to listen to that!
It's nice to hear some good health news for a change, especially in these desperate times of the Covid-19 pandemic that is causing immense pain and suffering Lloyd Mudiwa
M.This week's editorial is inspired by a poster my little son spotted in a local window over the weekend. “A little good news on a yellow poster! We're open again, ”read the poster. Next to this poster was the Coronavirus Covid-19 Public Health Advice poster by the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Irish Government on the subject of "Help with Coronavirus Prevention".
Given the general feeling of desperation at the time, my son was so excited to share this good news, "small" as it was, that he asked me to take a photo of my phone and send it to his mother.
A day later, I was just as excited as my son when I heard the good news on Monday (August 31st) that the lockdown on the Co Kildare coronavirus was to be lifted with immediate effect after the Covid-19 case numbers in the Had stabilized the county sufficiently.
The Acting Chief Medical Officer spoke at the Ministry of Health meeting that evening Dr. Ronan Glynns Empathy hit me.
He realized that while Ireland required relatively less intervention at the start of the pandemic than it did nationwide to get the Kildare situation under control fairly quickly, the positive outcome was due to people's willingness to stick with the interventions despite their frustration, fatigue and even anger in many cases.
"It's nice to have good news," said Dr. Glynn.
"This was the first time we had to recommend action like this on a regional basis," said Glynn. "I know it has been difficult. I can only imagine the impact this has had on some communities and businesses in particular – and Kildare in particular – as the operations are lengthy."
With the fear that dementia sufferers and their carers would be forgotten in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, hopefully people will live with these symptoms and behaviors that occur when the brain stops working properly – despite their frustration at the failure of successive governments Prioritizing modernization of dementia care – can also enjoy "some good news" released Tuesday (September 1st) by the HSE National Dementia Office, which includes the results of Ireland's second National Audit of Dementia Care in Acute Hospitals.
Given the growing number of people with dementia in Ireland and the resulting need for guidelines and standards for dementia, the first Irish audit of dementia care in acute hospitals was carried out from April to September 2013.
At this point, the design and delivery of care in our acute hospitals predated the evolving understanding that the elderly, especially those with dementia and delirium, were proportionally the key groups that acute hospitals serve, which was reflected in a focus on acute illness with relatively little adaptation to cognitive impairment, multiple illnesses, and frailty.
This initial review identified a large number of areas where changes were needed to improve the quality of dementia care. Some inspiration, however, has been drawn from the finding that the quality of dementia care in Irish hospitals is generally equivalent to the quality of the basic examination of dementia care in the UK conducted in 2010.
The 2012 second round audit of the United Kingdom had shown significant improvements based on the results and recommendations of the base audit.
It was the vision of the Irish Steering Committee on the National Examination of Dementia and the Irish Advisory Group on the National Examination of Dementia that the results and recommendations of our own initial review would have a similar impact on the quality of dementia care in acute hospitals in Ireland.
The results of the second Irish audit, in which 33 acute hospitals participated, including two major orthopedic hospitals (recognizing the overlap between hip fracture and dementia), show that indeed good progress is being made in improving the "dementia friendliness" of hospitals and in many areas General care was achieved, such as pressure ulcer management and the assessment of diet and mobility.
There were also improvements in training staff in dementia care. Around a third of hospitals now employ dementia-specific staff, and the same proportion have a team or working group to improve the quality of dementia, reflecting a desire to work together within the hospital to improve dementia care.
However, the audit also identified a need for improvements in the collection and recording of information to support person-centered care and in screening for delirium upon hospital admission, assessment and treatment.
Delirium increases the risk of death and home care discharge, so its prompt diagnosis and treatment is critical.
The report also recommends implementing the National Psychiatric Drugs Clinical Guideline in all facilities, including acute hospitals, and the HSE in order to raise awareness of dementia awareness among acute hospital staff so that a person living with dementia can be independent and safe during their stay stay in hospital as possible.
The training of staff and the implementation of national dementia pathways form the basis for improved dementia care. It is also important to recognize the role of the caregiver and their natural concern for the person living with dementia in a new setting.
The National Dementia Bureau has already created a number of online resources to support acute hospital staff and will meet with each hospital group to discuss their group’s results and their action plans for improved care for acute hospital dementia in 2021/2022. And it is not unimaginable to expect that there will be a little more good news for people with dementia in the third audit.
lloyd.mudiwa@imt.ie
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