Care of the older person

This is the care we give in hospital for an urgent health issue. It may be for an ongoing condition that has got worse. Or it might be for a new problem. We have several wards across our two main sites which look after older people.

Our DDOT team support older patients across our two main hospitals. They visit patients on the wards who have, or who are at risk of, cognitive problems. This could be dementia or delirium (sudden confusion). The DDOT team also support carers and staff with expert advice.

This is on our Sunderland site and is a centre of excellence in dementia care. It gives therapy, support and does activities in a space away from the ward. People also come to the centre for clinics.

This team looks after patients in hospital and at home after they have had a fall. They also assess older people who we think are at risk from falling. Falls can happen a lot when we get older. The team puts the right safeguards in place to protect people from falling. They also help people recover when they do.

This is a specialist team. They work with our emergency teams to assess older people as soon as they arrive. They will look at a person’s whole health story and not just focus on the urgent problem. They do a thorough review of each patient to make sure older people get the right care they need. This might not be in a hospital.

This is the care we give when an older person has a break or fracture in a bone. Many older people have falls which end up with a broken bone. This can often be a broken hip. Experts in broken bones and older people come together to give the care.

Older people who need our care may see lots of different experts. This includes:

• Consultants and medical staff
• Nursing staff (in hospital and at home)
• Healthcare assistants
• Speech and language therapists
• Dieticians
• Physiotherapists
• Occupational therapists
• Radiographers
• Surgeons and theatre team
• Pharmacists

Older patients who are in hospital will be on one of our specialist wards (see below). They may also stay in other parts of the hospital if they need surgery for example for a broken hip.

• South Tyneside District Hospital:
  • Ward 2 – 0191 404 1002
  • Ward 8 – 0191 404 1008

• Sunderland Royal Hospital:
  • Ward B21 – 0191 5699721
  • Ward E51 – 0191 5699751
  • Ward E52 – 0191 5699752
  • Ward E53 - 0191 5699753
  • Ward E56 – 0191 5699756

For directions to our hospitals click here.

For visiting information click here.

We run outpatient clinics for older people from lots of Trust locations (click here). You can find the details of these locations below and how to get here. Your appointment letter will let you know which location to go to.

• Local dementia support networks – click here
• Dementia UK – click here
• Alzheimer’s Society – click here