Hospitals are too "dangerous" for some older people

Older people should be treated in their homes rather than "dangerous" hospitals where possible, the NHS Alliance has stated.

In a surprise attack on the standards of care offered in hospitals, the alliance said hospitals are not always the best place to treat patients with long-term conditions such as dementia because there is an increased risk of infection.

Dr Michael Dixon, president and chairman of the alliance, said: "We should aim to keep them out of hospital for as long as possible.

"We need to work towards the point when acute hospital admissions should be regarded as a failure rather than a default position."

His comments come after the public inquiry into why hundreds of patients needlessly died at two hospitals in Mid-Staffordshire between January 2005 and March 2009.

The  alliance told The Times that it intends to submit a five-point plan for improving patient care to the NHS Commissioning Board today (Wednesday, March 13th).

Read more about Barchester's dementia care homes