CARERS of dementia patients have painted a damning picture of the care their loved ones received while staying at Nottingham's hospitals.

Speaking in front of a committee at the Council House, they described how their family members often came out of hospital in a worse condition than when they entered.

One female carer described how her father's 12-day stay at a Nottingham hospital left him immobile and unable to speak.

She said staff did not give him any stimulation and kept calling him by the wrong name, meaning he "switched off" and his conditioned worsened.

Staff were said to be unable to cope with his changed behaviour due to the condition, and on one occasion he was discharged because he kept pacing up and down the ward.

She said her father was often left distressed by cancelled appointments, and that there was a lack of communication during longer stays on wards.

She said: "Everyone was very caring but a lot of information was lost through hand-overs (between staff on different shifts)."

Another woman told councillors about her mother, who died in September last year after being diagnosed with dementia two years before.

She fell regularly in her final months, and her daughter said her condition deteriorated dramatically whenever she visited hospital.

She said: "My mother died a terrible, terrible death, I would not want anyone to see their mother disappear like that.

"I lost two-and-a-half years of my life looking after her because no one else seemed to understand what she needed."

Their stories, and others like them, left members of the Notts Joint Health Scrutiny Committee demanding answers.

County councillor Brian Wombwell told the meeting: "I feel so angry at what we have heard this morning.

"I have been a councillor for 12 years and have never heard stories like this before.

"I think we have uncovered things here that are very seriously affecting the carers and the sufferers and the families."

The committee, which scrutinises the county's health services, made a number of recommendations, including:

Better training for staff to understand dementia and treat patients and carers accordingly

Appointments to be better timed so restless and apprehensive patients can be dealt with more quickly

Better information and communications between the hospital and community

More dementia champions covering wards, not just one for two hospitals.

Since that meeting in February, Nottingham's hospital trust has taken major steps to improve its care of dementia patients.

The trust, which runs the City Hospital and Queen's Medical Centre, has produced a dementia strategy to improve all aspects of its care.

But as nursing director Jenny Leggott told members of the same committee this month, action should have come sooner.

She said: "There are definitely things we needed to have done earlier than we have around raising awareness about what things we needed to do in supporting patients.

"The dementia strategy came out because it was realised that we weren't doing what we needed to do.

"We weren't getting things right."

She added: "We have 4,000 nurses and it is important they have an understanding of how to deal with patients with dementia."

Trust bosses now say "significant progress" has been made in raising the profile of dementia care.

Some 40 qualified nurses working with The Alzheimer's Society have accessed a specialist training programme which includes a three-month practical work-based project.

This month, 80 staff and support workers will attend a one- day workshop to learn practical skills to understand and care for patients with dementia.

All new nursing staff have an introduction to dementia care as part of their induction to the trust.

A national research project into dementia is taking place on ward B47, where many patients with the condition are staying, to find out more about what patients need.

Professor Rowan Harwood, the trust's lead for dementia care, told the Post that staff recognised the problems facing dementia patients.

He said: "We have been learning new skills and ways of providing better care when it comes to caring for these patients.

"We can offer care and medical assessment in a manner that doesn't cause distress.

"This in turn increases the chances of patients of getting home as soon as possible and with the minimal amount of anxiety and could even reduce the need for medication."

Malc Cooper, 62, of Chilwell, has cared for his wife Judy, 63, since she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, a form of dementia, six years ago.

He is a member of the Notts Local Involvement Network, which aims to help improve patient care.

Mr Cooper said: "When Judy went to A&E after falling and banging her head she was left for a long time, screaming the place down.

"From the point of view of the other patients I would have got her treated, because it was distressing.

"When she was in after having a minor stroke, it seemed to me I knew more about dementia than people on the wards.

"The impression I now get is that they have started to address the situation.

"I am pleased and upbeat about the way they have taken on board what was said in February.

"Six months down the line they have got something in place. It is a fairly quick response."

robert.parsons@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk