Good week/bad week

Have this week’s events brought good news or bad for older people?

By Rebecca Law, Media and PR officer

It was a bad week for hospitals as the Patients Association revealed that two out of three patients are not being checked for signs of malnutrition. We were really disappointed at the news, which comes just months after the CQC had found evidence of neglect amongst older hospital patients, with them being overlooked, left thirsty and not given the assistance they need to eat.

We all know that food and water are the basics of care and are vital to rest and recuperation, yet somehow they are still going amiss in our NHS. Staff need to engage properly with their patients to ensure they are being properly looked after – individuals have individual problems and conditions like arthritis or problems with sight can make things like eating and pouring a drink much more difficult for some older people. If staff don’t pay enough attention to the needs of their patients, these things can fall under the radar, leaving older people – and others –entering a downward spiral towards malnutrition and further ill health.

According to Age UK, malnourished patients stay an average of 5-10 days longer in hospital, so overlooking these basic checks is not just damaging to the patients, it does us all a disservice - it’ll be the collective whole who finds ourselves footing the bill further down the line.

This is a good week for over sixties with a problem weighing on their mind. New research from the University of Texas has shown that 'wisdom really does come with age'. According to an article which ran in the Daily Telegraph this week, previous studies, which suggest decision-making ability declines with age, were 'biased against older brains'. The new findings show that younger people veer towards making choices that lead to immediate rewards, while older people tend to take a more measured, strategic approach to decision-making which takes the longer-term into account.