Ethical and legal questions on hospital-based care for patients suffering from dementia

The order in which these issues will be presented is the order of the subsequent stages of dementia and the reasons for a clinical encounter in hospital in those stages. Without being exhaustive, we distinguish five themes to which the questions and dilemmas are related:

1. Needs and preferences of care. 2. Disclosure of diagnosis. 3. Symptomatic treatment of dementia. 4. Social system breakdown. 5. Complications of dementia.