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I strongly object to the attitude that more older patients = risks you can't control.

Yes, older people need more care and their needs are wider than those of more resilient younger patients, but too many units are leaving them in wet beds developing pressure ulcers, dehydration, malnutrition & thromboses.

There simply is NO EXCUSE for some of the poor care I've seen. I know from my own clinical experience that these sentinel events are preventable if you staff your wards and community teams with well qualified and motivated nursing staff.

The units that fail in this end up with the poor outcomes because they have too many unregistered care assistants and sometimes they have incompetent & unmotivated registered nurses too. Staffing levels and skill mix needs to reflect real patient needs, not arbitrary budget levels.

We shouldn't be afraid to speak these truths and criticise bad care for what it is.