14.06.11
Spot checks on elderly care in Welsh hospitals
Health watchdogs are to introduce spot checks of elderly care in hospitals in Wales following a report branding some care “shamefully inadequate”.
The report by the older people’s commissioner for Wales, Ruth Marks, called Dignified Care, was published in April and called for “fundamental change” after seeing older people degraded by poor treatment.
Health minister for Wales, Lesley Griffiths, said the Welsh Government wanted to introduce spot checks to ensure that dignity of care for older patients was a top priority for health boards.
She also said that NHS staff should be allowed to spend more time with older patients to give them the respect and help they deserved.
She said: “It is never acceptable for older people to feel ignored or ill-treated while in hospital. I am committed to ensuring that they feel respected and are treated with dignity.
“To ensure compliance with recently revised standards, I am asking Healthcare Inspectorate Wales to carry out unannounced spot checks on standards of dignity in care for older people in our hospitals.”
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