Hospital and ward assessment tool

 

Hospital environments are busy places which can be confusing for people living with dementia to navigate. People living with dementia may be attending hospital for routine appointments, some may be admitted in a crisis through Accident and Emergency and some may be on longer stay wards. Using the hospital assessment tools can help to highlight ways in which a variety of changes may be made to make spaces more understandable and comfortable for people living with dementia.

 

How to use the hospital and ward assessment tools

There are two tools available for use in hospitals:

  • The Ward Assessment Tool
  • The Hospital Assessment Tool

Both can be used by a single individual but involving others who have a different perspective, for example people with dementia or a family member, estates staff, dementia specialist, nurses, doctors, or health care assistants, can offer valuable opportunities for gaining different views on the care environment and how to improve it. Completing the tool together can also encourage constructive conversations about the philosophy and purpose of care.

The assessment tool contains seven sections and a set of questions to prompt discussions and should be completed in full. Walk around the care environment and consider each of the questions in turn. Give each question a score out of five, where 5 indicates that it is met completely and 1 indicates it is barely met.

A summary sheet has been provided at the end of the assessment tool which should help pinpoint the areas that might be considered for initial improvement.

You can download a copy of the ward tool or for the hospital tool. You can now access the assessment tool as an App which covers all of the different settings. Please visit this page for more information.

 

You may also find it helpful to read The King's Fund report: Developing supportive design for people with dementia, which provides practical, value-for-money examples to encourage and inspire staff and their organisations to provide an environment of care that better supports people with dementia.