I have already posted my thoughts that hospitals are bad for people with dementia and that changes are needed allowing essential carers to stay and support their loved one.
This message is concerning the the treatment of dehydration and the blind faith that hospitals have that their medical practice is the only choice. My 87 year young partner has dementia, she fell and damaged her hip and was taken to hospital and given the prognosis of 6 weeks bed rest.
Communication and understanding by dementia patients is not good and she hated having things stuck on her and stuck in her and she wasn't eating or drinking properly. The standard hospital procedure for dehydration is to treat it with a drip but she pulled out catheters and peeled off patches. After about 4 weeks we were advised that there was nothing that they could do and that she may not last for long.
I had been told about Jelly Drops by a carer and had looked up their web site but decided that they were an expensive way of giving water. Out of desperation I bought a pack of jelly drops and consulted a nurse who was concerned about choking. I cut them into 8 pieces which she ate and after 2 she asked for a drink and drank a full beaker, ate her lunch and ate another jelly.
The nurses continued to use them and after breakfast she spoke to a nurse for the first time in weeks, which she registered and the ward sister couldn't believe the change.
I bitched the system and nurses were grateful that I assisted with feeding, she is now discharged to a nursing home.
I am aware that nurses are understaffed and do not have time and that hospitals and doctors have well established procedures but there are alternatives and the care of dementia patients in hospitals needs to change.
I have no commercial interest in Jelly Drops, and am purely a customer, but I am full of praise for their development and effectiveness.
This message is concerning the the treatment of dehydration and the blind faith that hospitals have that their medical practice is the only choice. My 87 year young partner has dementia, she fell and damaged her hip and was taken to hospital and given the prognosis of 6 weeks bed rest.
Communication and understanding by dementia patients is not good and she hated having things stuck on her and stuck in her and she wasn't eating or drinking properly. The standard hospital procedure for dehydration is to treat it with a drip but she pulled out catheters and peeled off patches. After about 4 weeks we were advised that there was nothing that they could do and that she may not last for long.
I had been told about Jelly Drops by a carer and had looked up their web site but decided that they were an expensive way of giving water. Out of desperation I bought a pack of jelly drops and consulted a nurse who was concerned about choking. I cut them into 8 pieces which she ate and after 2 she asked for a drink and drank a full beaker, ate her lunch and ate another jelly.
The nurses continued to use them and after breakfast she spoke to a nurse for the first time in weeks, which she registered and the ward sister couldn't believe the change.
I bitched the system and nurses were grateful that I assisted with feeding, she is now discharged to a nursing home.
I am aware that nurses are understaffed and do not have time and that hospitals and doctors have well established procedures but there are alternatives and the care of dementia patients in hospitals needs to change.
I have no commercial interest in Jelly Drops, and am purely a customer, but I am full of praise for their development and effectiveness.