Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland

 

Combined dementia and functional assessment units

 

We visited twelve assessment wards that admitted both people with dementia and people with functional illness. Of these wards, six were sited in a general hospital, four in a psychiatric hospital and two in a remote cottage or community hospital.

We asked staff if they found any particular problems with this and how they managed to overcome these. We were told that the main problem tended to be that some people with dementia misidentified their personal belongings and could also invade the personal space of other people.

We found that in wards where there was adequate living space and single bedroom accommodation fewer problems were reported, and privacy, dignity and safety was less likely to be compromised.

Providing activities that would be stimulating and meet the needs of each individual was cited as challenging.

Log in / register to comment on this page.

Select Reports by Year:

Please select 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2005 2004 2003