Do social admissions exist?: a clinical study of emergency admissions into residential care in Birmingham

A medical and social assessment was performed on 132 emergency admissions into Local Authority residential care. The main reasons for admission included withdrawal of an informal carer, disturbed behaviour and a physical disaster. Medical conditions were commonly found, and chronic brain failure was present in over half of all admissions. The incidence of severely disturbed behaviour was found in a small proportion of clients, with psychiatric disability predominating in just under half of those assessed. Both medical and social services were slow to respond to the need for appropriate placement, with fifty per cent of admissions occupying the emergency bed after four weeks. A medical assessment at the time of admission would have led to a more appropriate course of action, although in many cases this would have meant admission to hospital.