Initiatives to Improve Awareness of Delirium in a Teaching Hospital in Singapore: for Better Patient Care - Neurology & Neuroscience

Delivering good care for the elderly with cognitive issues in a large rapidly turning over acute hospital setting is often challenging at all levels. The elderly patients have multiple medical comorbidities, on multiple medications and often display challenging behaviors which are not easy to manage, unless the care staffs have received training in Gerontology. The onset of challenging behaviors may be the harbinger for something more urgent, and time and care should be promptly instituted, instead of managing the behavior with sedatives or restraints. Diagnosis of delirium is often missed since the symptoms are vague and fluctuate throughout the day. Nurses are perhaps the best partners for the doctors in screening and diagnosing delirium early.

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