Dementia care in hospitals
Care of Confused Hospitalised Older Persons (CHOPs) program
The Care of Confused Hospitalised Older Persons (CHOPs) program aims to improve the experiences and outcomes of older people, 30% of whom present at a hospital with confusion that is a common result of dementia and delirium.
CDPC collaborated with the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI), the primary agency in NSW for engaging clinicians in implementing new models of care, to produce the program that is housed on the CHOPs website.
The website has a suite of resources from managing challenging behaviours to dementia screening tools for clinicians, service providers and decision makers. It outlines the below seven key principles of care with resources for any hospital site to implement the CHOPs program (currently rolled out at 13 sites).
The program identifies seven key principles of care:
- PRINCIPLE 1: Cognitive screening
- PRINCIPLE 2: Delirium risk identification and prevention strategies
- PRINCIPLE 3: Assessment of older people with confusion
- PRINCIPLE 4: Management of older people with confusion
- PRINCIPLE 5: Communication processes to support person-centred care
- PRINCIPLE 6: Staff education on caring for older people with confusion
- PRINCIPLE 7: Supportive care environments for older people with confusion
Watch this video, the first in the series, that provides an overview of the key principles.
Resources
Contact
The Dementia and Delirium Volunteer program
The Dementia and Delirium Volunteer program resource is a model supporting the management of patients with confusion (CHOPs Key Principle 4).
This project trained volunteers across 9 rural hospitals in Southern NSW Local Health District to provide one-to-one practical assistance and support for people with dementia and/or delirium in acute hospitals. The volunteers provided person centred care underpinned by completion of a personal profile with the patient and/or their carers. This assisted volunteers in their connection and communication with patients, an understanding of their abilities and a way to support their choices, preferences and provide meaningful activities.
The Dementia and Delirium Volunteer program is based on a volunteer program at Bega Hospital which has been in place since 2009. The initial program was established in partnership with Barbra Williams (Alzheimer’s NSW).
Resources
- Implementation training website for volunteers
- Volunteer Program Information flyer
- Volunteer Program Project Overview