Quality statement 4: Information and support | Delirium in adults | Quality standards

Quality statement

Adults with delirium in hospital or long-term care, and their family members and carers, are given information that explains the condition and describes other people's experiences of delirium.

Rationale

Experiencing delirium can be upsetting and distressing, particularly if the person has hallucinations or delusions, and they may go on to have flashbacks. It is important to provide information that describes how others have experienced delirium in order to help adults with delirium, and their family members and carers, to understand the experience and to support recovery.

Quality measures

Structure

Evidence of local arrangements to ensure that adults with delirium in hospital or long-term care, and their family members and carers, are given information that explains the condition and describes other people's experiences of delirium.

Data source: No routinely collected national data for this measure has been identified. Data can be collected from information recorded locally by provider organisations, for example from clinical protocols.

Process

a) Proportion of adults with delirium in hospital or long-term care who are given information that explains the condition and describes other people's experiences of delirium.

Numerator – the number in the denominator who are given information that explains the condition and describes other people's experiences of delirium.

Denominator – the number of adults with delirium in hospital or long-term care.

Data source: No routinely collected national data for this measure has been identified. Data can be collected from information recorded locally by healthcare professionals and provider organisations, for example from patient records.

b) Proportion of family members or carers of adults with delirium in hospital or long-term care who are given information that explains the condition and describes other people's experiences of delirium.

Numerator – the number in the denominator whose family members or carers are given information that explains the condition and describes other people's experiences of delirium.

Denominator – the number of adults with delirium in hospital or long-term care.

Data source: No routinely collected national data for this measure has been identified. Data can be collected from information recorded locally by healthcare professionals and provider organisations, for example from patient records.

Outcome

Patient and carer experience.

Data source: No routinely collected national data for this measure has been identified. Data can be collected from information recorded locally by healthcare professionals and provider organisations. The Care Quality Commission's Adult inpatient survey asks about information provision (not specific to adults with delirium).

What the quality statement means for different audiences

Service providers (such as hospitals, residential care homes, nursing homes) ensure that they have protocols and procedures in place so that adults with delirium, and their family members and carers, are given information that explains the condition and describes other people's experiences of delirium.

Health and social care practitioners ensure that they give adults with delirium, and their family members and carers, information that explains the condition and describes other people's experiences of delirium.

Commissioners (such as integrated care systems and local authorities) seek evidence from providers that they have protocols and procedures in place to ensure that adults with delirium, and their family members and carers, are given information that explains the condition and describes other people's experiences of delirium.

Adults with delirium, and their family members and carers, are given information that explains what delirium is and includes descriptions of other people's experiences of delirium.

Source guidance

Delirium: prevention, diagnosis and management. NICE guideline CG103 (2010, updated 2023), recommendation 1.8.1

Definitions of terms used in this quality statement

Long-term care

Residential care provided in a home that may include skilled nursing care and help with everyday activities. This includes nursing homes and residential homes. [NICE's guideline on delirium, terms used in this guideline]

Information for adults with delirium, and their family members and carers

Appropriate verbal and written information, which:

informs them that delirium is common and usually temporary
describes people's experiences of delirium
encourages adults at risk of delirium, and their family members and carers, to tell their healthcare team about any sudden changes or fluctuations in behaviour
encourages the person who has had delirium to share their experience with the healthcare professional during recovery
advises the person of any support groups.

[Adapted from NICE's guideline on delirium, recommendation 1.8.1]

The Royal College of Psychiatrists' information on delirium is an example of written information for adults with delirium and their family members and carers.

Equality and diversity considerations

All written information should be accessible to adults with delirium, and their family members and carers, who have additional needs such as physical, sensory or learning disabilities. Adults with delirium, and their family members and carers, should have access to an interpreter or advocate if needed, and should be provided with information that meets their cultural, cognitive and language needs.

For people with additional needs related to a disability, impairment or sensory loss, information should be provided as set out in NHS England's Accessible Information Standard or the equivalent standards for the devolved nations.