Relevant guidelines
Several guidelines and resources have been developed to provide advice to health professionals in caring for older people with or developing confusion.
Practice guidelines
- Key Principles for Care of Confused Hospitalised Older Persons: This document describes the CHOPs program’s seven Key Principles for the appropriate care of older people with confusion in hospital.
- Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Delirium in Older People: Recommendations to guide clinical assessment and management of delirium in older Australians in hospital and across health care settings, developed by the Clinical Epidemiology and Health Service Evaluation Unit, Melbourne Health in collaboration with the Delirium Clinical Guidelines Expert Working Group.
- NICE guideline – Delirium: Diagnosis, prevention and management: UK National Institute for Care and Health Excellence (NICE) guideline covering the care of adults (18 and over) with, or at risk of, delirium in hospital and in long-term residential care or a nursing home.
- NICE guideline – Dementia: Supporting people with dementia and their carers in health and social care: UK National Institute for Care and Health Excellence (NICE) guideline provides recommendations for the identification, treatment and care of people with dementia and the support of carers.
Care pathways and resources
- A better way to care: Safe and high-quality care for patients with cognitive impairment (dementia and delirium) in hospital: The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has developed three resources to guide health service managers, clinicians and consumers in improving care of people with cognitive impairment. The resources follow a pathway, describing strategies that reflect evidence-based practice and existing models of care.
Other resources to support practice
- Best Care for Older People Everywhere: The Toolkit: Toolkit developed by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services to assist health services identify tools and resources that can assist them in improving care for older people in hospital and throughout the patient's journey through the care continuum, and assist clinical staff to minimise the functional decline of older people in hospital.
- The Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP): Website for a US patient care program that aims to ensure optimal care for older adults in the hospital by preventing delirium and loss of functioning.