My family and me are becoming increasingly concerned about the mental state of our elderly Aunt. She has recently been admitted to hospital after collapsing. When visiting, she is very confused, speaks about things happening that are confusing to us etc.. We have very limited knowledge about the signs people exhibit regarding Dementia and would like to know what we need to do to get a diagnosis to enable us to plan for her future.Any advice would be most welcome
Worried about my elderly aunt
- Thread starter Umma Gumma
- Start date
It could be a urine infection?
It could be delirium?
Dehydration?
I would just make sure you convey your concerns to the hospital team. I would write down any behaviours you observe, as one of the problems in a hospital setting is anyone spending enough time with the person to really understand what is going on.
A common dementia after a stroke is vascular dementia.
It could be delirium?
Dehydration?
I would just make sure you convey your concerns to the hospital team. I would write down any behaviours you observe, as one of the problems in a hospital setting is anyone spending enough time with the person to really understand what is going on.
A common dementia after a stroke is vascular dementia.
Welcome to the forum. Did your Aunt display signs of dementia before admission to hospital - was she confused? As mentioned above there are a number of things that may be causing increased confusion, and hospitals are not good environments for those with dementia. I would add medication to the list as your Aunt may have been given a new medication which has affected her cognition and increased her confusion. Try to arrange a chat with the consultant if you can to make them aware of how she was prior to admission and things that have changed since admission so that they can look into the changes and consider a potential diagnosis of dementia.
Also check to see if the hospital has a dementia nurse as I found these very useful and they will be able to identify symptoms of dementia probably better than the medical team can. Hopefully the cause of the collapsing will be investigated and your Aunt will not be spending too long in hospital. If there has been no dementia diagnosis on discharge and other causes of her increased confusion have been ruled out the best way to get a diagnosis is to go via her GP. They may conduct some initial basic tests and then refer her to the memory clinic/older adults mental health team for further tests/diagnosis.
Also check to see if the hospital has a dementia nurse as I found these very useful and they will be able to identify symptoms of dementia probably better than the medical team can. Hopefully the cause of the collapsing will be investigated and your Aunt will not be spending too long in hospital. If there has been no dementia diagnosis on discharge and other causes of her increased confusion have been ruled out the best way to get a diagnosis is to go via her GP. They may conduct some initial basic tests and then refer her to the memory clinic/older adults mental health team for further tests/diagnosis.
My mum recently had 3 weeks in hospital after a fall and her level of confusion was quite high. She didn’t make sense regularly and was wandering around looking for her mum, accusing the nurses of hitting her and so on. We suspected dementia before admission and the dementia nurse was a great help in getting her referred after discharge.
A week or two after discharge she is more like her old self. The dementia is still there but no more nonsensical ramblings and other odd behaviours.
i would say that we had to fight to be heard about the dementia on the ward. It was only because we had a lovely junior dr on our side that they began to listen and brought the dementia nurse in. I think we spoke to 3 or 4 consultants and a number of the nursing staff before the dementia was taken seriously. If I’d have known there was a dementia nurse available I’d have contacted them straight away. (Turns our details were outside the ward on a notice board.)
A week or two after discharge she is more like her old self. The dementia is still there but no more nonsensical ramblings and other odd behaviours.
i would say that we had to fight to be heard about the dementia on the ward. It was only because we had a lovely junior dr on our side that they began to listen and brought the dementia nurse in. I think we spoke to 3 or 4 consultants and a number of the nursing staff before the dementia was taken seriously. If I’d have known there was a dementia nurse available I’d have contacted them straight away. (Turns our details were outside the ward on a notice board.)
Many thanks for your comments and advice (my apologies for the delay in responding, i'm new to this forum!) What you've said is extremely valuable; we have started making notes and we are trying to engage the hospital staff as best as possible.
Hi Louise7. many thanks for you post and the valuable informed you've provided. my apologies for the delay in responding, i'm still trying to get used to being in this forum! The comment regarding a Dementia Nurse is extremely interesting and we'll look to see if the Hospital provide that facility
Hello and welcome to the forum @Umma Gumma. (A fellow Pink Floyd fan??).
The contents of the Society Factsheet that can be read by clicking the 2nd line of the following link may be of use to you
Assessment and diagnosis (426)
PDF printable version
The contents of the Society Factsheet that can be read by clicking the 2nd line of the following link may be of use to you
Assessment and diagnosis (426)
PDF printable version
Hi. Many thanks for the information you've provided! We'll certainly look into the Dementia Nurse option
