| Abstract: | Changes in our health and hospital policy towards shorter stays in hospital as well as changes in our social and family structures have led to a lot of problems in geriatrics. It is complicated to insure a necessary continuing home-treatment or a supply of daily necessities which are often necessary with advancing age after acute sicknesses. This has resulted in that many of the old peoples' or nursing home places are filled directly from the hospital. During investigations of 496 patients of an internal clinic we found that a rather high number of geriatric patients accepted a change into an old peoples or nursing home in contrast to investigations conducted outside the clinic. But the hospital patients complained about the same points in these institutions as the non-hospitalized. Therefore hospital personnel (doctors, sisters, nurses, therapeuts and social workers) ought to try all possibilities for rehabilitation inside and outside the usual stationary institutions (Reha-clinic, day-clinic) to insure the reintegration of old people in familiar or neighbourly surroundings. If this is not possible, the patients should be given enough time and opportunity to adjust themselves to the new life situation and to make independent decisions. |
