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A cause for concern – changing the fabric of psychogeriatric care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

S. M. Benbow
Affiliation:
York House, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester M13 9BX
D. J. Jolley
Affiliation:
Healey House, Withington Hospital, Manchester M20 8LR

Extract

Elderly patients constitute nearly two thirds of resident hospital patients (DHSS, 1988): 60,280 people were resident in mental illness beds at the end of 1986, and 34,340 were aged over 65 years; 21,500 had been resident for more than a year and 11,300 for more than five years. This represents a 15.7% fall in numbers of resident elderly patients over a decade, while numbers of younger resident patients fell by 40%. Mental hospitals are increasingly dominated by their population of elderly patients. Some patients have grown old in the hospitals, but more are admitted in late life and remain in care, usually because they are suffering from severe dementia.

Type
Original articles
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1992 

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References

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