The Tao of Dementia & Delirium (part 2)

So, what do we do when a person, say a ninety-year-old woman is climbing on a window ledge, at risk of falling, or hitting you with a telephone or pouring water over your PC? What do you do when you have tried to talk, tried to communicate as best you are able? This is whenContinue reading “The Tao of Dementia & Delirium (part 2)”

The Tao of Dementia & Delirium (part 1)

‘Do not prescribe anti-psychotics!’ I usually include this phrase when inducting new doctors into my department. In recent years there has been a great deal of discussion about the potential harms of anti-psychotic medications, when used inappropriately to sedate or tranquillise people who are either living with dementia or experiencing delirium. The old standard, inContinue reading “The Tao of Dementia & Delirium (part 1)”

Healthcare Improvement and Bruce Lee

In April I attended the BMJ/IHI Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare in London. Maureen Bisognano, President and CEO of the IHI was one of the main speakers. Maureen discussed an area of healthcare we haven’t been fantastic at improving in recent years; funnily enough, she didn’t talk about innovation, but exinnovation – thisContinue reading “Healthcare Improvement and Bruce Lee”

Mindfulness and patient safety

Being aware is one of the first lessons in patient safety. Awareness of self, of environment, of our patients; so often we walk around with our head in clouds of worry and thought, so called, mind-wandering – thinking about the shopping, the cooking, the cleaning, what others think, what I thought. A jumble of misrememberedContinue reading “Mindfulness and patient safety”