Emergency day hospital assessments

Abstract

Objective: To describe the use of a geriatric day hospital for emergency multidisciplinary assessment as an alternative to immediate hospital admission for some groups of frail older people. Design: Retrospective study of change in clinical practice. Setting: District general hospital. Intervention: Immediate multidisciplinary assessment of selected patients instead of requested emergency hospital admission. Outcomes: (1) Data were collected on 67 consecutive referrals. In 63% the patient needs could be met without emergency hospital admission on the day of assessment. (2) Of the 42 patients originally not admitted only 29% were subsequently admitted within the next three months. Conclusions: Emergency day hospital assessments can be used as an alternative to immediate hospital admission for some frail older people.