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.
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