Carers are more than visitors:

they are part of the team that support a patient with dementia and frailty. Many of the hospitals that welcome carers issue them with passports to identify them and give them a tangible sense of their authority and recognition. These passports were the idea of Dr Sophie Edwards, consultant geriatrician at the North Middlesex Trust, who explains here why she felt them to be crucial.

Going into hospital is stressful at the best of times. Being admitted to hospital if you have dementia is much harder. The unfamiliar routines and environment take time to learn. Communicating your needs may be challenging when you are well but become impossible when combined with ill health. Additionally, people with dementia are more likely to develop delirium in hospital, which may make them distressed and agitated.

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