Psychiatric Bulletin (2009) 33: 91-95. doi: 10.1192/pb.bp.107.017392
© 2009 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Older people with enduring mental illness: a needs assessment tool

Walid K. Abdul-Hamid, Honorary Senior Lecturer

*Centre for Psychiatry, Barts and the London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry and Consultant Psychiatrist, The Linden Centre, Broomfield, Chelmsford CM17LF, UK, email: Walid.Abdul-Hamid{at}nepft.nhs.uk

Kelly Lewis-Cole, Clinical Psychologist (Independent)

Andalusia, Spain

Frank Holloway, Consultant Psychiatrist

Bethlem Royal Hospital, Beckenham, Kent, UK

Marisa Silverman, Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist

The Maudsley Hospital, London, UK

Declaration of interest

None. Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

AIMS AND METHOD

There is a lack of tools to assess the needs of older people with enduring mental illness who have ‘graduated’ from adult mental health services and little is known about this population. The Elderly Psychiatric Needs Schedule (EPNS) was developed and applied to older people with enduring mental illness in contact with the old age and general adult components of an inner-city mental health service.

RESULTS

The EPNS proved reliable (mean agreement 96%, mean Kappa {kappa}=0.90). The mean number of needs identified was 7.6, of which 4.3 were unmet and 3.3 were met.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

The EPNS provided a reliable method of needs assessment in this population. The authors offer the EPNS as a tool to assess service needs of older adults with functional psychiatric disorders having ‘graduated’ from adult mental health services.