BMJ  2005;331 (12 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7525.0-b

Elderly patients don't need to wait in hospitals for residential care

An off-site transitional care facility can be a safe alternative to a hospital for elderly patients who are waiting for a residential care bed. Crotty and colleagues (p 1110) randomised 320 patients to waiting in a transitional care facility, where they received a single assessment from a specialist team and appropriate ongoing therapy, or in a hospital. Death rates and rates of transfer back to hospital did not differ significantly between the groups, but patients who waited in transition facilities waited longer for a bed in a long term facility.

Credit: THE IMAGE WORKS/TOPFOTO

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Relevant Article

Transitional care facility for elderly people in hospital awaiting a long term care bed: randomised controlled trial

Maria Crotty, Craig H Whitehead, Rachel Wundke, Lynne C Giles, David Ben-Tovim, and Paddy A Phillips
BMJ 2005 331: 1110. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]