MORE training and research is needed to tackle “appalling” treatment of patients with dementia in hospitals, a Worcestershire expert says.

Many hospital staff are in urgent need of more training to make them more aware of the needs of patients with dementia and to help them provide appropriate care, according to Dawn Brooker, professor of dementia studies at the University of Worcester.

Professor Brooker says patients with dementia admitted to general hospitals for a variety of reasons, ranging from a heart attack to injury from a fall, often do not receive the right level of care because dementia is seen as “nobody’s core business”.

A lack of training among all hospital staff – from doctors and nurses through to porters and caterers – on understanding the special needs of patients with dementia, can lead to a situation where dementia patients fail to take medication, miss meals, or give misleading information to medical staff.

Professor Brooker called for urgent action as the Alzheimer’s Society published a report on research which found most people with dementia leave hospital worse than when they arrive.

She said: “The Alzheimer’s Society report shows that the level of care in general hospitals for many people with dementia is appalling. The problem is that while being in hospital is extremely disorientating for dementia patients, many staff may be unaware that patients have the condition or will not have been trained to know how to deal with it.

Professor Brooker has helped establish an Association for Dementia Studies at the University of Worcester, in collaboration with NHS Worcestershire, Worcestershire County Council, Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust and the national charity For Dementia.

The association aims to become a national centre for excellence for education, training and research.