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Lying to patients with dementia to ease distress should be avoided by nurses because of the ethical and legal issues it raises, say researchers.
A study on therapeutic lying - lies told that are considered to be in a person's best interests - concludes that healthcare professionals believe it can be beneficial in dementia care.
In 2006, researchers at Newcastle University and Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust revealed that of the 112 care home nursing staff they surveyed, 98 per cent admitted to lying to patients with dementia and 85 per cent wanted guidelines on the issue.
Twelve proposed guidelines on therapeutic lies were developed in response to nurses' requests for clarification. These state...