COVID-19 and dementia: Difficult decisions about hospital admission and triage

This paper provides guidance for people with dementia and their families, helping them to consider key issues when planning dementia care during COVID-19.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, ADI has sought to highlight some important issues affecting people living with dementia. In response, ADI has published two papers around the difficult decisions people with dementia, their families and carers are having to make about hospital admission and triage during COVID-19.

This first paper provides guidance for people with dementia and their families, helping them to consider key issues when planning dementia care during COVID-19.

In the paper, ADI writes:

Families caring for someone living with dementia can feel cut-off, overwhelmed and anxious as current thought suggests that older populations and those living with complex health conditions are at greater risk. People with dementia are also more likely to be negatively impacted by social isolation, anxiety and confusion from worrisome news in the media and be at greater risk of behavioural changes, confusion and delirium during this period – putting them at risk of being hospitalized and hence further exposed to COVID-19.

The second paper, intended to compliment the first by providing an ethical backdrop around health resource allocation, quality of life and transparency in decision-making, can be found below.

A Greek translation of the paper can be found here.