Alzheimer's Patients in Psychiatric Hospitals

My wife Clare has Alzheimer's disease and recently spent three weeks in a psychiatric hospital, a separate building among many on a huge hospital campus. Clare was admitted due to severe anxiety issues, and I was extremely impressed with the quality of medical care she received from her psychiatrist and nurses on a daily basis. However, I would recommend several changes be made in medical protocols, activity scheduling and in the roles of hospital aides to enhance the lives of Alzheimer's patients in psychiatric hospitals Medical protocol decisions Clare had a near syncope (fainting) episode during her second day in the hospital. (She never actually passed out, which is why doctors termed it a "near" syncope event.) I cannot fault the hospital protocol that required additional testing to rule out other issues... especially for a newly admitted patient with a history of heart disease and seizures. It is where and how this testing took place that raised concerns. The two nurses on duty in Clare's unit were not allowed to draw blood for analysis nor was an onsite doctor allowed to order an IV drip, perform an EKG, or take a simple chest x-ray. Clare had to be taken by ambulance to the Emergency Department (ED) located in a separate building on campus. Waiting for an ambulance and physically moving Clare into the ED took more than half an hour, followed by almost six hours spent on a gurney in the ED without being allowed to have any food or medication. Needless to say, ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news