Providing Good Care at Night for Older People: Practical Approaches for Use in Nursing and Care Homes

The experiences and needs of residents and patients in nursing and care homes are very different at night, and this is particularly true for those with dementia. Yet nursing and care homes are not always inspected with the same rigour at night as they are during the day, and night staff do not always receive the same levels of training, resources and supervision as day staff.

This book provides night staff and their managers with the knowledge and practical skills they need to deliver positive and appropriate care during the night. The authors look at all of the issues that are particularly pertinent in caring for older people at night, including nutrition and hydration, continence, challenging behaviour, medication, night-time checking, pain management and end-of-life care. They also look at the impact that working at night has on care staff, and offer practical advice to help them to safeguard their own health. The final chapter provides a set of night-time care guidelines for inspectors that can also be used by managers to evaluate night-time practices in their care homes.

Diana Kerr is Research Fellow at the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, University of Edinburgh. Diana has worked for many years as practitioner, educator, trainer and researcher in the field of older age, dementia and learning disability, and dementia. She is a consultant to service providers at a national and international level. She continues to design and run courses on dementia and learning disability and dementia for voluntary, statutory and private providers, as well as carers.
Heather Wilkinson is a co-director of the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, University of Edinburgh, where she also directs a programme of work focusing on ageing and dementia. Heather is also the Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange for the School of Health in Social Science at the University of Edinburgh. She is involved in a number of different research projects and teaching with a dementia focus.