MEDICAL ASSESSMENT OF ELDERLY PERSONS PRIOR TO A MOVE TO RESIDENTIAL CARE: A REVIEW OF SEVEN YEARS' o*. EXPERIENCE IN EDINBURGH Edinburgh EH10 5SB Summary

Assessment prior to a move to residential care has been carried out by the Departments of Geriatric Medicine in the Lothian Region for many years. Results have been reviewed over 7 years in one Department; 688 people were assessed; 7 % were placed in alternative accommodation as a result of the assessment and a further 15 % were offered specialist advice. The workload was 50 assessments per 10 000 population over 65 years per year. Of these, 58 % were already known to the geriatrician and 23% were seen as part of the normal work of the department. It was concluded that the benefits of assessment make the extra work involved well worth while