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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Tobi Thomas Health and inequalities correspondent

Restraining and sedating dementia patients ‘routine’ in hospitals in England, study finds

Hands resting on a walking cane
Up to 50% of all acute hospital admissions are patients who are also living with dementia, according to government figures. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

People with dementia are being subjected to restraints and non-consensual sedation while in hospitals in England, according to the first study of its kind.

These restrictive practices were found to be an “embedded aspect of routine ward care”, according to the analysis, with such examples including dementia patients having their bedside rails raised, doors and pathways blocked by furniture, experiencing verbal commands to sit down or go back to bed, and physical interventions such as non-consensual sedation.

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