Caring for People with Cognitive Impairment During COVID-19

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) have developed new resources to support health service organisations to provide safe care for patients with cognitive impairment during COVID-19. Remember that the environment around cognitively has changed due to COVID-19 so they may find hospital even more frightening than ever before. The increased use of personal protective equipment by staff and find the principles of social distancing difficult to understand and follow.

healthdirect.gov.au

The resources are a fact sheet for clinicians and a poster. These provide important reminders of key actions in the National Safety and Quality Health Services (NSQHS) Standards that remain essential at this time. These include:

• Goals of care discussions with the patient, support person or, if required, the substitute decision maker
• The involvement of carers
• Delirium prevention strategies, and
• The use of antipsychotics only as a last resort.

As a harm reduction measure clinicians should continue to use the strategies of their hospital or health service organisation to keep their patients with cognitive impairment safe.

For reliable information on Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection prevention and control and medicines go to the ACSQHC website.