Leading a dignified revolution

摘要

MANY INDIVIDUALS in the NHS provide excellent care but there is evidence that their commitment to good practice is not universal.A Dignified Revolution is a group of individuals, most of them nurses, who want to improve the care of older people in hospital. The catalyst for the establishment of this group was the distress that these individuals had experienced in witnessing the hospital care received by their relatives.Their personal experiences have been consistent with the report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights (2007), which uncovered evidence of neglect, abuse, discrimination and unfair treatment of frail, older people. The committee also reports that more than one in five hospitals and care homes fail to meet minimum standards of dignity and privacy.The Healthcare Commission (2007) reports meanwhile that 30 per cent of complaints about hospitals concern lapses in fundamental aspects of nursing care such as nutrition, privacy and dignity, and communication.