Hospital bosses are stepping up the care given to elderly patients.

More than half of the inpatients treated by Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust are over 75. Many have a combination of preexisting conditions and complex social care needs, which can make their hospital stay and discharge more complicated than for most other patients.

In a message to staff chief executive Duncan Selbie said: “We have a clear set of expectations in place which focus on the fundamentals of good nursing care – nutrition, pain control, care of property, privacy, dignity, communication and care of the dying and on getting these right every time.

“We are refreshing much of what we do to make sure this is the experience we offer.”

To ensure patients are more involved in conversations about their own care nursing handovers, which have historically taken place around the nursing station or in the ward office is being moved to patients’ bedside so that it is about them and so they can ask questions.

A new initiative where an observer from another area of the hospital will monitor interactions between staff and patients is also being introduced.