Care of older people in hospitals is unacceptable, says think tank

Older people’s care often breaks down in hospitals, and these failures in continuity of care are “unacceptable,” says the King’s Fund.

Jocelyn Cornwell, who led an analysis for the health policy think tank, said many frail, older people in hospitals with multiple conditions were being let down by poor communication from frontline staff, inadequate coordination, and poor planning.

She said one of the most glaring findings was how often patients were being moved around inside hospitals for non-clinical reasons.

Ms Cornwell called for radical improvements in practices and attitudes, including a “new definition of excellence in care and a realisation that quality depends entirely on relationships between patients and people who look after them.”

She said, “It is time to turn the rhetoric of personalised care into the reality of everyday care and practice.”

Ms …