Abstract
A longstanding body of public enquiries and research identifies people living with dementia experience systemic inequalities within hospital settings, concluding a focus on improving care cultures is required. Drawing on a 3-year multi-sited hospital ethnography, this paper examines everyday cultures of care in NHS acute hospital wards to interrogate how ethnicity, gender and social class intersects to shape the care of people living with dementia. Drawing on Collins' concept of intersectionality and the relational nature of power, the analysis reveals that while cared for by diverse teams of healthcare professionals, a patients' age, ethnicity, gender and social class, as interconnected categories, influences the tightening of ward rules for some people living with dementia and the granting of significant privileges for others. Focussing on walking within the ward, with a large number of people living with dementia classified as 'wandering', we explore ways in which intersectional identities informed who was granted privileges to leave the bedside and 'wander' the ward, and who experienced further control. The paper concludes that institutional racism and attitudes to gender, social class and ageing permeate the routine organisation and delivery of care within NHS acute hospital wards to significantly impact people living with dementia, and in turn, increases the consideration of care pathways that emphasise their discharge to institutional settings.