Spouses praise staff for providing 'superb' standard of care for their loved ones, writes ALISON HEALY
NURSING HOMES have come in for some criticism in recent years, but a new study highlights the mainly positive experiences of the care given to one group of residents with dementia.
The research, funded by the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland, involved in-depth interviews with the bereaved spouses of 16 nursing home residents in the Republic and Northern Ireland.
Some 75 per cent described the care provided to their spouses in very positive terms, using words such as “excellent”, “superb” and “second to none”, while 87 per cent said their spouses received all the care required. Three spouses were dissatisfied with the care received.
The report said the praise for staff and for their kindness and professionalism “was so clear and resounding it would be hard to think it was anything other than truly authentic”.
The Development of End of Life Care Standards for People with End Stage Dementia was produced by Dr Suzanne Cahill of Trinity College Dublin, Daphne Doran of Quality Initiatives, Belfast, and Dr Max Watson, of the University of Ulster and Northern Ireland Hospice.
The study found that the relatives favoured the care delivered to residents with dementia over that provided in hospitals, where experiences were recalled mostly in negative terms.
Six spouses reported unpleasant experiences relating to the impact of hospitalisation. Hospital environments were referred to as inappropriate, and some spouses felt that hospital staff lacked the knowledge and skills necessary to care for people with dementia.
Differences in the care provided north and south of the Border were also highlighted in the report.
The nursing home residents in Northern Ireland had been in long-stay care facilities for much longer periods than those in the Republic. The level of confidence in the medical care received was higher in Northern Ireland (87 per cent compared with 75 per cent in this State).
Participants who were more critical of end-of-life services also tended to come from the Republic. Criticism related to issues such as a lack of personal care, poor staffing levels and absence of activities. The study noted that, of the three spouses who were unhappy with the level of care provided, none had been in a position to visit the nursing home on a daily basis.
“The absence of frequent visits and probably less involvement and knowledge about the care being administered, combined with less opportunity for communication and relationship building, may have heightened dissatisfaction.”
The authors recommended that policies and procedures at all levels should meet the needs of relatives who were no longer able to visit a resident with dementia approaching the end of life.
They also called for specific policies throughout the island of Ireland that would ensure quality end-of-life care for people with dementia. By 2036, more than 100,000 people will have the condition in the Republic and by 2051, almost 50,000 people will be affected by it in Northern Ireland.
“Despite the growing numbers, there are no specific guidelines to help institutions in the delivery of care to people with dementia who are at the final stage of their lives, either in NI or ROI,” the authors noted.
Above quotes are from The Development of End of Life Care Standards for People with End Stage Dementia by Dr Suzanne Cahill, Daphne Doran and Dr Max Watson, funded by the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (cardi.ie)