Dementia patient Andy Woodhead reveals how the NHS secretly sedates them and and prevents them leaving their hospital bed – even ordering them to wee in a bottle
A dementia patient who went to hospital after a fall has told how he was secretly sedated and prevented from getting out of bed for a week.
Andy Woodhead, 69, has told his account as part of the first ever national review of an NHS “culture of containment” where dementia patients are prevented from leaving their bed, sometimes for weeks. Retired lawyer Andy was diagnosed with vascular dementia 11 years ago but lives independently at home with his partner in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales.
Describing his hospital admission last summer, Andy told the Mirror : “I had fallen outside the house. I actually passed out, so I couldn’t break my fall, so I actually went down onto my head and face and it was a mess.
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“I was taken in on a stretcher then they put me on to a bed and put the sides up. I wasn’t allowed out of bed for the whole week that I was in the hospital. I was only allowed to use disposable bottles for urine. There was no TV, nothing. All I could do was watch people walking past my cubicle.”
While initially in A&E he says an “out of control” drunk woman came into his cubicle and had to be restrained by staff who wrestled with her on the floor. Andy was then admitted to an acute ward and says he “slept the whole time I was there”.
Andy said: “They kept bringing me my medication in the little white plastic containers. I said ‘this is more medication than I normally take, what are you giving me?’ The nurse said ‘oh I’ll go and find out and I’ll come back to you’. But they never did. I only had one meal in all the days that I was there. I told them I hadn’t eaten today and they just said: ‘that’s because you’re sleeping all the time’. They weren’t very nice about it.
“I said ‘well I’m diabetic, I have to eat’ so they agreed to go and find me a sandwich but I was made to feel like it was my fault because I was asleep. Looking back I was clearly being sedated. My visitors came to see me and I slept through most of the visits. It was all a bit of a blur really.”
The landmark review by University of West London looked at how dementia patients are cared for during an urgent or unplanned hospital admission such as after a fall or when suffering a sudden illness or injury. Such admissions of dementia patients make up between 25% and 50% of all acute hospital admissions. The 18 month study observed nine acute wards across six NHS hospital trusts chosen to be representative of the country as a whole. Some 168 patients and medics agreed to participate in over 1,000 detailed interviews.
The report said that if dementia patients try to leave the bed forcibly or push a member of staff they can be labelled “aggressive in their medical notes. This can lead to social care packages being withdrawn, meaning they can never go back to living independently at their home or return to their care home.
Andy said he could understand why agitated patients confined to their beds throughout their hospital stay could become aggressive and try to leave. He said: “I didn’t understand why I was being confined to bed. If patients feel like they’ve been kidnapped or they’re being imprisoned because of the way in which they’re being subtly restrained, I can fully appreciate that it adds to their agitation, which could make them ‘aggressive’.”
Andy is a Dementia UK Ambassador and goes into hospitals to teach staff how to handle dementia patients, working tirelessly to challenge the myths and stigma surrounding the condition. He insists NHS staff are generally doing their best in difficult circumstances. He said: “There’s a fine line between safety and restraint. I call it subtle restraint. I mean, clearly they don’t want me falling out of bed.
“But if you have dementia, lack of social interaction is likely to make the condition worsen. It is vital. Without it people can become non-verbal. They become afraid and extremely lonely because they feel like they’re a nuisance. When I teach medical people, about handling people with dementia I say ‘talk to them’. They often say ‘we haven’t got time to talk to them’ and I say ‘well, if you talk to them, you’ll have more time because they’ll be better patients’. They’ll know you and feel safe and secure.”
Andy, who has just become a grandfather, added: “It was amazing meeting my daughter. I cried. It brought back memories of when my son was born. I never thought I would live to see a grandchild. I thought my dementia would have progressed so much that either I wouldn’t know who she was, or I would have died by now.
“It is possible to live well with dementia. There are so many myths about the speed of its progression. There are over 100 different types of dementia. It can be a journey that’s 20 years long or three years long. When I got my diagnosis, I just thought I would be unable to function normally within about six months. Nobody ever explained anything.”
The report, seen by the Mirror, found almost every dementia patient observed experienced some form of restraint. It will be officially launched on Thursday. The endemic practices are justified to minimise risk of falls, absconding or violence. Researchers insist staff have patients’ best interests at heart but worry about “reprisals” professionally or from families if they leave the bedside and come to harm.
A spokesman for NHS England said: “People living with dementia should always be treated with dignity in every care setting – restrictive practices should only be used as a last resort and if absolutely necessary for patients’ safety. The NHS has provided staff with guidance and training resources to on how to keep patients safe with the least restrictive practices.”
