Elderly patients on trolleys getting just one hour sleep

A study has found elderly patients on trolleys in emergency departments get an average of just one hour of sleep in any 24-hour period.

The research, published in The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, looked at a sample of 152 patients with a median age of 80 over a four week period as they were admitted to University Hospital Galway in the summer of 2018.

Of the sample, more than two-thirds spent time on a trolley. According to the pilot study, one-third of those staying overnight in the emergency department slept in the corridor.

While 72% of the sample reported already having a poor sleep pattern before entry to the emergency departments, admission to hospital tended to worsen the issue.

“This study found that most older adults admitted to a typical Irish university hospital emergency department spend a significant proportion of their initial 24 hours in hospital sleeping for a time on a trolley; here the median time spent in emergency departments boarding was 23 hours with a median duration asleep of just one hour,” according to the research by Helen Mannion, William Molloy, and Rónán O’Caoimh.

“The odds of them reporting poorer sleep were 4.4 times higher than those admitted directly to a bed.”

The study is understood to be the first to examine the prevalence of sleep disturbance among older adults admitted to emergency departments.

Mr O’Caoimh said one reassuring element was that those who suffered sleep deprivation did not have significantly poorer outcomes than those in the sample who had better sleep.

“The concerning finding is how little sleep they get.”

He said in practice many in the sample were simply “nodding off” and getting the bare amount of sleep.