Ten Things to Look For in a Senior-Friendly Emergency Room

Health in Aging has released a two page pamphlet, "Ten Things to Look for in a Senior-Friendly Emergency Room" to assist seniors and health care professionals in spotting senior-friendly emergency rooms.  ERs can be overwhelming for seniors, due to their loud noises and the chaotic atmosphere.  The more time seniors spend in this type of environment, the higher their risk for delirium.  Health in Aging has outlined 5 questions to ask and 5 things to spot to determine if the ER is indeed senior-friendly.

To view the list, please visit http://bit.ly/TNKrfj

Dementia Learning Resource for Ambulance Staff

From the NHS and Dementia Partnerships, this handout is specifically aimed at ambulance and emergency personnel who interact with people with dementia.  This handout includes basic information on dementia, tips on communicating, and management strategies for disruptive behaviours.
 As ambulance and emergency personnel are often in frequent contact with people with dementia, it's important that staff are provided with the information, advice and guidance to ensure the best possible care of the person with dementia.

For more information, and to access the handout, please visit http://bit.ly/1i5ENRF

Seniors’ Use of Emergency Departments in Ontario, 2004-2005 to 2008-2009 by the Canadian Institute for Health Information

On Feb. 18, 2010, the Data Development and Research Dissemination Division (DDRDD) of the CIHR (Canadian Institute for Health Information) released an analysis examining trends in senior’s emergency department (ED) use between 2004-2005 and 2008-2009.

The report provides a focused look at changes in seniors’ ED volumes, triage levels and acute care admissions and considers changes in seniors’ ED visits for ambulatory care sensitive conditions, such as diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Additionally, it examines the costs of seniors’ ED use.

http://secure.cihi.ca/cihiweb/dispPage.jsp?cw_page=media_20100218_e

Listening Makes Sense: Understanding the Experiences of Older People in Urgent care

This website represents the results from a City University (London) study into the experiences of older people and their relatives in emergency or urgent care in England.

As part of a Department of Health leadership program for health care practitioners in emergency and urgent care, ninety-six older people and their relatives in England were interviewed about their experiences. The interviews were analyzed to enable a national picture of patients’ experiences to be drawn.

Seven videos representing a selection of the stories shared by older patients and their relatives have been re-recorded by actors and are available for viewing at the site. All names, and some other details, have been changed to preserve anonymity.

The “Study Resources” portion of the site contains written materials available in PDF produced by the study including:

• Listening makes sense: a resource for staff caring for older people: Practitioner Resource Booklet. This resource for staff presents the key messages in many of the stories told, alongside excerpts from those stories.

• Listening Makes Sense: Understanding the Experiences of Older People and Relatives Using Urgent Care Services in England: Final Report. The final report contains the study literature review, methods, findings, discussion and recommendations.

• Listening Makes Sense: Understanding the Experiences of Older People and Relatives Using Urgent Care Services in England: Executive Summary

 http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/~jacky/index.htm

Humanitarian action and older persons: an essential brief for humanitarian actors

This advocacy paper on humanitarian assistance and older persons has been developed by a wide range of humanitarian agencies, including: HelpAge International (HAI); International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); Public Health Agency of Canada; United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the
World Health Organization (WHO).

The authors state why there is a need to pay attention to older persons in emergencies and argue that recent events have brought to light the disproportionate impact of natural disasters and crises on older people:


http://www.eldis.org/go/display&type=Document&id=43137