Dementia patients are being routinely restrained and sedated in NHS hospitals which treat them like prisoners, a shocking report reveals.
The first ever national review of their care has exposed a ‘culture of containment’, with restrictive practices going unrecognised and unrecorded.
The 18-month study involved more than 1,000 detailed interviews with 168 patients and doctors on nine wards across six nationally representative NHS hospital trusts.
It found some patients are prevented from leaving their bed for weeks at a time, with victims likening their stay to being imprisoned, kidnapped or held hostage.
The restrictive practices start with raised bedside bars, which prevent dementia patients leaving their beds.
If they do try to leave, they can be physically restrained and given sedatives or antipsychotic drugs.
And those who try to leave or push a member of staff while in a state of distress and confusion can even be labelled ‘aggressive’ in their medical notes.
This may lead to social care packages being withdrawn, meaning they can not return to living independently at home or go back to their care home.
Some patients are prevented from leaving their bed for weeks at a time, with victims likening their stay to being imprisoned, kidnapped or held hostage
The leaked report, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and seen by the Daily Mirror, has major implications for how the NHS cares for people living with dementia.
Lead author Professor Andy Northcott, of the University of West London, said: ‘They wake up and don’t know where they are.
‘They’re in a bed that is essentially a cage and they can’t get out.
‘What’s happening every day to dementia patients doesn’t fit with what the NHS should be doing.
‘We think about dementia being an end-of-life stage, but these are often people living pretty independently at home with their partner, who come in with a fairly mundane illness like a urinary tract infection.
‘If they had not got that they would have lived at home with their families for years.’
The Daily Mail and Alzheimer’s Society have partnered in a drive to beat dementia, which claims 76,000 lives each year and is the UK’s biggest killer.
The Defeating Dementia campaign aims to raise awareness of the disease, in an effort to increase early diagnosis, boost research and improve care.
The new report studied dementia patients’ care in an urgent or unplanned hospital admission, such as after a fall, sudden illness or injury, with such occurrences constituting a quarter to half of all acute hospital admissions.
It found ‘taken-for-granted practices have over time become part of the everyday ward cultures’.
Everyone experiences dementia differently. Use this checklist to help you make a note of your symptoms before you talk to your GP.
Containment typically involves trapping patients in their beds with furniture and verbal commands to sit down or go back to bed.
Often they cannot visit the toilet and could be told to use a bottle.
The practices are justified to minimise risk of falls, absconding or violence and while researchers say staff have patients’ best interests at heart, workers fear reprisals professionally or from families if they leave the bedside and patients are harmed.
Although no one is strapped down, Prof Northcutt said: ‘You might have a security guard hold someone down in a chair.
‘You get patients lifted up by their arms and walked back to their bed. That happens quite frequently.’
Confining dementia patients in bed for long periods can accelerate their condition and patients deprived of toilet breaks can become incontinent.
It recommends restrictive measures should be recorded and justified by the NHS.
Michelle Dyson, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘Today’s findings are shocking and completely unacceptable.
‘These practices of restraint and sedation strip people of dignity and worsen fear and confusion at the very moment they need compassionate and skilled care.
‘We know the NHS is under immense pressure, but these practices are not the answer.
‘With sufficient staffing levels, and access to training and support, there are far better and safer ways to care for people, approaches that reduce distress and uphold autonomy.
‘The Government has committed to delivering a new plan for dementia by the end of this year, and this must be the moment we see real change.
‘Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer and the defining challenge facing our health and social care system.
‘We need a bold plan that addresses the issues seen across the dementia pathway and ensures people living with dementia receive the care that they deserve.’
An NHS England spokesman said: ‘People living with dementia should always be treated with dignity in every care setting.
‘Restrictive practices should only be used as a last resort and if absolutely necessary for patients’ safety.
‘The NHS has provided staff with guidance and training resources on the least restrictive practices.’
