Author/Editor		Groleger, Urban
Title		Starostnik na akutnem psihiatričnem oddelku
Translated title		Elderly on acute psychiatric department
Type		članek
Source		In: Velikonja I, editor. Zdravstveni, pravni in socialni vidiki obravnave oseb z demenco. Zbornik predavanj 4. psihogeriatrično srečanje; 2005 mar 31-apr 1; Lipica. Ljubljana: Spominčica - Slovensko združenje za pomoč pri demenci,
Publication year		2005
Volume		str. 1-8
Language		slo
Abstract		Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (PICU) are main entry points to hospitalization of psychiatric patients. Their purpose is to assess patients that present with psychiatric emergencies, mainly in terms of diagnostic procedures and introduction of therapy. The care for the patients is inten sive, daily fluctuation of patients is mostly high. PICU of the University Psychiatric Hospital Ljubljana on average admits 8 patients daily with approximately the same number of discharges from the ward. Almost one fifth of all patients are 65+ years old ( monthly average). The needs of acute elderly inpatients significantly differ from those of younger inpatients. Meeting those needs calls for a specialized acute elderly inpatient program of care that would also assure the appropriate level of safety for the elderly patients. Due to the intensity of care and to the fact that the majority of PICU patients come from younger age groups, the needs of the elderly might not be fulfilled appropriately. Under such circumstances the chance of medical error is increased along with the probability of complications and injuries. The quality of care for the acute elderly might be lower than expected. The acute elderly hospitalization length is shorter in PICU than in geriatric wards within the University Psychiatric Hospital due to the high daily turnover; a substantial proportion of elderly inpatients is discharged directly from the PICU. The article presents the reailife situation, describes the recommended setting for the acute elderly psychiatric inpatients, and proposes solutions to improve the quality of care, increase safety and improve some other shortcomings of the present situation.
Descriptors		EMERGENCY SERVICE, HOSPITAL HOSPITALS, PSYCHIATRIC AGED