The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales is undertaking a Review on whether older people are treated with dignity and respect whilst in hospital.
What we want to know
We want to find out about your experiences, both good and bad, when you are in hospital as an in-patient. This may include:
- Personal privacy, including issues with mixed sex wards and facilities
- Communications, including how people are informed about, and involved in decisions about their care, the type of language used and terms of address
- Food and nutrition including offering and respecting choice, identifying and providing appropriate assistance
- Personal hygiene such as condition of hospital bathrooms, assistance with washing if appropriate, and the use of incontinence pads
- Managing end of life care
- Recognising older people in all their diversity
- Planning for discharge including when to plan and how this is communicated
- Autonomy and identity including access to personal items such as glasses and false teeth and personal possessions
- Awareness of individual rights and understanding of how to complain
- Any other examples of good or bad practice related to maintaining dignity and respect.
The Panel of Inquiry will not cover clinical diagnosis or treatment, the transportation of people to and from hospital, or discharge arrangements beyond hospital.
Aims of the Review
The Review wants to make practical recommendations to improve situations when people are not treated with dignity and respect and to spread good practice.
Sending us your evidence
Please ensure written evidence is less than four pages or 1500 words. You are welcome to use the language of your choice.
We may contact you to provide opportunity for you to give your evidence in person, this is entirely at your discretion and should you decline this will not affect the submission of your evidence into the Review.
Responses should be sent to Ask@olderpeoplewales.com
Delyth Lewis
Secretariat to the Inquiry Panel
Older People’s Commissioner for Wales
Cambrian Buildings
Mount Stuart Square
Cardiff CF10 5FL
The closing date for evidence is Monday 16 August 2010
Protecting your information
Both the oral evidence and written evidence in part or in full may be published alongside the Commissioner’s Review. However, we appreciate that some of the evidence that we are likely to receive will be of a sensitive and highly personalised nature and we will take all the necessary steps to anonymise examples we are given of poor practice. Information that we consider to be personal data will not be published.
If you are providing any information, which you feel is not suitable for public disclosure, please indicate which parts should not be published. If you would like any further details about how we will use your information, please contact us.
Accessible formats
If you would like a copy of this document in Braille, large print or audio format, please contact the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales. Contact us by emailing ask@olderpeoplewales.com or by telephone on 08442 640670
