Temporary Hospital Stay and Information Needs

Malcolm’s Temporary Hospital Stay- not enough accessible information

Malcolm* required hospital admission for the urgent treatment of a kidney problem. Upon admission, Malcolm’s wife told staff that he suffered from dementia, but did realise the importance of explaining his special needs, fears and little problems that he experienced from time to time. Unfortunately, the staff remained unaware that Malcolm was ‘at risk’ of wandering in certain situations as they were not experienced in caring for people with dementia. After settling Malcolm into the ward, his wife left for the day. Malcolm later walked out of the hospital and was missing for more than 24 hours. Malcolm was found in a very distressed condition and required medical intervention.

Identified areas of concern

1. With the urgency to admit Malcolm into hospital, some details relevant to his stay in a new, unfamiliar environment such as hospital, were overlooked.
2. Malcolm’s wife was not fully aware that he may become more disoriented than usual in hospital and be ‘at risk’ of wandering away.  Staff did not fully appreciate the risk of Malcolm wandering away from hospital as they were not familiar with the care of a person with dementia.  

How the Safe Return Home system could have helped in Malcolm’s case

1. The Safe Return Home registration forms have been designed to guide carer’s such as Malcolm’s wife, through the many different types of information that can help secure the safety of their loved ones in time of crisis. The questions cover diagnosis, community functioning, orientation and memory, behavioural conditions and medications. Carers are provided with the opportunity to collate this vital information in a secure database in case of an emergency or in Malcolm’s case, should the need arise to tell medical staff about special needs.
2. By being registered with Safe Return Home Malcolm’s wife could quickly and easily either print off this information for staff or she could give them direct access to the database. This system has been designed to save time for all concerned and to reduce the stress of having to try to think of all the bits and pieces of information ‘on the run’.
3. By having access to this information, hospital staff would have been warned that Malcolm may be ‘at risk’ of wandering and could have taken steps to prevent this occurring.
4. In the unfortunate event that Malcolm had still managed to wander away from the hospital, his identifying details would have been immediately available to the Police, thus speeding up the search. It is important that this information be distributed quickly to ensure that the search can be initiated before the person has had the opportunity to wander a significant distance. 

*Malcolm is an assumed name to protect the privacy of this family.