EMERGENCY DAY HOSPITAL ASSESSMENTS

Objective: To describe the use of a geriatric day hospital for emergen cy multidisciplinary assessment as an alternative to immediate hospita l admission for some groups of frail older people. Design: Retrospecti ve study of change in clinical practice. Setting: District general hos pital. Intervention: Immediate multidisciplinary assessment of selecte d patients instead of requested emergency hospital admission. Outcomes : (1) Data were collected on 67 consecutive referrals. In 63% the pati ent 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.