title: The four-hour waiting target in A&E is not always helping older people.
abstract: The Department of Health document, The NHS Plan, stated that no patient should wait more than four hours in Accident and Emergency (A&E). Nurses argue that the pressures of meeting the four-hour target have led to hasty transfers to other departments, often with incomplete assessments and misdiagnosis. Transferring patients in this manner poses problems for the ward and for the older person, particularly those with dementia who are further disorientated by multiple moves.
authors.affiliation: University of Portsmouth.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sander