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ASSESSING THE NEEDS OF ELDERLY PEOPLE EXPERIENCES OF A GERIATRIC SERVICE
Author(s) -
Lefroy R. B.,
Page Jennifer
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1972.tb103723.x
Subject(s) - service (business) , subsidy , geriatric care , government (linguistics) , older people , geriatrics , elderly people , geriatric rehabilitation , gerontology , social welfare , medicine , function (biology) , social needs , nursing , rehabilitation , business , psychiatry , health care , political science , physical therapy , marketing , linguistics , philosophy , law , evolutionary biology , biology
The problems confronting a newly‐formed geriatric service led to individual assessment of elderly people's needs. Two samples of these records have been analysed. They reveal the difference between the demands made by the elderly people, their relatives and referring doctors, and their needs as assessed by geriatric physician and social worker. Action taken after assessment is contrasted with what might have happened under more appropriate circumstances. One result of the first survey was the establishment of a Frail Aged subsidy by the Government of Western Australia. Improvement in the standard of care of disabled elderly people will depend on the availability of assessment. This should be the function of geriatric services operating from regional medical centres.