Apologies for the long post but something needs to be done about the way the NHS is failing people with dementia. On Wednesday I spent a whole day at HRI with my mum on the acute ward. (She fell on Tuesday and spent a day in a&e waiting for tests and for a bed). I witnessed first hand how people with dementia are treated in hospital and it was shocking. Nurses only come if you press the call button. My mum didn't know what the call button was never mind remember how to use it and would never shout out for assistance as this would be bad manners. If I hadn't been there to ask for her a cup of tea, her lunch, her medication, prompt her about going to the loo and ensure she had her basic needs met she would have sat bewildered all day. As recommended by Alzheimers Society I gave the nurse the "This is me" document which explains about mum and how her condition affects her. I don't think she read it. I spent the whole day ensuring I got her out of that ward and back home to where her carers look after her really well. Finally got her home at 7pm. Luckily she now has no memory of having spent 2 days at HRI. If I hadn't been there she would have been sitting desperate for the loo and thirsty for a cup of tea, hungry and confused because lunch came an hour later than she's used to and because they forgot to bring her a sandwich at tea time. Without her hearing aids and her meds. In an unfamiliar nightie. She only got her needs met because I was there to look after her. This hospital does not allow carers of people with dementia on the ward outside of visiting hours which goes against best practice. Mum has now been given epilepsy medication because she's been feeling dizzy and fell. They did a myriad of tests including a brain scan but omitted to do a urine test to rule out the most common cause of problems in older folk, the urine infection. I made sure they did one and we will find out the results in a day or so. Maybe all she needed was antibiotics and she is now on epilepsy medication for the rest of her life in addition to all the other meds she takes. I bet this is happening every day all over the UK.