Nurse Helen Cowan talks about starvation, dehydration and death in hospitals. “Kill by mouth” read a recent headline in the Sun newspaper. Readers were informed that “malnutrition was mentioned on the death certificates of 297 patients who died in hospital during 2015; dehydration was cited for 429 patients. For care homes, the figures were 54 and […]
Health professionals are at the forefront of tackling the problem of alcohol misuse in our society. For many people, problem drinking may only be flagged up when they go to see their GP on another matter or attend A&E in a crisis. It’s an ongoing project at the Medical Council on Alcohol to educate medical professionals […]
‘Our senses of smell and taste play a vital role in helping us interact with the world around us, but they are often taken for granted. Unless you work in a profession that requires these senses, ie, you are a perfumier or a chef, you can usually carry on working and coping with the deficit. […]
In theory, the PIP scandal was just about one factory in France producing substandard breast implants. In practice, it proved to be a watershed moment for the entire UK cosmetic surgery industry, opening it up to a wave of investigations and reviews and exposing its gravest flaws. Undoubtedly one of the industry’s greatest weaknesses was […]
“For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death us do part”. These are the promises made between a loving couple as they look ahead to a long and happy marriage. But will you really be together until one of you takes your final breath? According to the Office […]
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What does growing old mean? Too many of us seem to believe that becoming thin and frail is an unavoidable part of ageing. This is the conclusion of a large-scale study commissioned by Abbott and supported by the Patient Association which found that 94 per cent of us fear injury in later life, nearly half […]
Hundreds of thousands of older people are facing ‘double whammy’ of unmet care needs and being chronically lonely. New research from Age UK shows just how tough life is for hundreds of thousands of older people with care needs who are struggling on without any help. Fresh analysis finds that if you are an older […]
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Is your beginning worth more than your end? Helplessness defines both ends of life: our need to be washed, fed, carried (or hoisted) in a world where nothing makes much sense, we struggle to be understood, and where human touch brings special comfort. Why then do we care so much more for our newborns than […]
Urine tests have long been used as frontline weapons in the clinical armoury to ensure that elderly people are not suffering from dehydration. Studies show that around 20 per cent of older people living in residential care don’t drink enough fluid and that rises to 40 per cent of older people who are admitted to […]
Read More… from Dipstick urine tests are not fit for purpose
Hands are often tell-tale signs of chronological age when other parts of the body, including the face, are more youthful in appearance. The dermal layer of the skin on the back of hands is thinner than that of the face and contains less collagen that the face for example. The hands age more in women […]