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It is estimated that one in five general hospital beds in the UK are occupied by someone who has dementia, although this is likely an underestimate. Admission to hospital causes an increased risk of delirium developing, due to aspects such as infection, surgery, dehydration, as well as the disorientating and unfamiliar hospital environment. Refer to the Delirium: Medication Review in Acute blog for more details. All staff are likely to interact with someone who has dementia, and so should have the recommended skills and knowledge, as described in the Promoting Excellence Framework. Supporting modules for learning are available on Turas.
Patients with dementia may face challenges when communicating; staff may identify distress in people with dementia but not that pain is the underlying cause. This can lead to unrecognised, untreated or undertreated pain, which can cause further distress. Patients with dementia often receive less analgesia; a study has shown patients with dementia received one third of post-operative pain relief in comparison to their younger, non- cognitively impaired counterparts.
Effective pain assessment is fundamental in implementing effective pain management. Utilising a structured approach to identify and treat pain, and assess response to analgesia is imperative.