title: Geriatrician input into nursing homes reduces emergency hospital admissions.
abstract: Nursing home residents are often very dependent, very frail and have complex care needs. Effective partnerships between primary and secondary care will be of benefit to these residents. We looked at 1954 admission episodes to our Trust from April 2006 to March 2009 inclusive. 3 nursing homes had the highest number of multiple admissions (≥ 4). Four strategies to reduce hospital admissions were used at these nursing homes for 3 months. An alert was also sent to the geriatrician if one of the residents was admitted so that their discharge from hospital could be expedited. The project was then extended for another 4 months with 6 nursing homes. The results showed that geriatrician input into nursing homes had a significant impact on admissions from nursing homes (χ(2)(2)=6.261, p < 0.05). The second part of the project also showed significant impact on admissions (χ(2)(2) = 12.552, p < 0.05). Furthermore, in both parts of the project the length of stay in hospital for the residents was reduced. Geriatricians working together with co-ordinated multidisciplinary teams are well placed to manage the care needs of frail, elderly care home residents.
authors: Ashford & St. Peter's Hospital, Guildford Road, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 0PZ, United Kingdom. radcliffelisk@hotmail.com
authors: Radcliffe
authors: R
authors: Lisk
authors: Keefai
authors: K
authors: Yeong
authors: Ashraf
authors: A
authors: Nasim
authors: Mike
authors: M
authors: Baxter
authors: Bhaskar
authors: B
authors: Mandal
authors: Raad
authors: R
authors: Nari
authors: Zahid
authors: Z
authors: Dhakam
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004630:Emergencies / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D063127:Secondary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration