Concern about older people's experiences of healthcare has moved up the political and public policy agendas in the wake of the Independent and Public Inquiries into Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. However, quantitative analysis of the available patient experience data remains limited and the statistical evidence base on inequalities even more so. In this talk, Dr Polly Vizard presented findings from a new study that provides in-depth nationally representative quantitative evidence on older people’s experiences of poor and inconsistent standards of treatment with dignity and respect, and support with eating, during hospital stays using the Adult Inpatient Survey. The study highlights how older age interacts with gender and disability as a driver of inpatient experience, considers the role of socio-economic disadvantage, and makes specific recommendations on how to build inequalities analysis into national frameworks for healthcare monitoring, inspection and regulation.
Polly Vizard is an Associate Professorial Research Fellow at the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics. The study “Older peoples experiences of dignity and nutritional support during hospital stays” is co-authored with Dr Tania Burchardt of CASE and LSE Social Policy. The project was originally funded by ESRC and subsequently through a follow up small grant from the International Inequalities Institute.
Watch below:
Older people's experiences of dignity and nutritional support during hospital stays