title: Elderly care. Armchair theatre.
abstract: The government's plan to free beds in the acute sector by discharging elderly people from hospital into private nursing homes are ill-thought out and a poor response to a complex problem. Older people may come to fear admission to hospital, seeing it as a prelude to being put in a home. Greater investment in community services would be the best hope of appropriate care for many older people. The government should have the need for hospital-based services for older people in the next three years and aim for a corresponding increase in good community services.
authors.affiliation: Eastern Wiltshire Services, Kingshill Research Centre in Swindon.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bullock
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000359:Aftercare / Q000458:organization & administration*; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D006285:Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010351:Patient Discharge; D017149:Private Sector / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013222:State Medicine; D006113:United Kingdom