What is delirium?
Delirium is a state of mental confusion that is common in patients who are critically ill. A patient with delirium may:
- See, hear or feel things that are not actually there (or hallucinate). The things they see and hear are often frightening.
- Have very suspicious thoughts (or delusions). For example, they may believe that staff are not who they say they are or are trying to harm them.
- Not know what day it is or that they are in hospital. They might think they are somewhere else.
- Not remember or understand what is said to them and might not be able to follow a conversation.
- Be quite withdrawn from everything going on around them. They may often be staring into space.
- Have reduced activity and tend to be sluggish or drowsy. They may not interact with others well.
Delirium can change quickly, so a person may seem to be having a normal conversation and then suddenly appear confused, because of this staff on the unit will check for delirium with patients regularly.
We are aware this PDF are might not be accessible to all users. If you would like to request an accessible version, please contact bfwh.
Read our accessibility statement to learn more.
