The 'evening syndrome'--a sign of failure in providing sufficient geriatric amenities

Emergency wards are under pressure most of the hours of the day and night. When patients arrive during the working hours of outpatient clinics it is possible to divert some of them. Once the clinics are closed, all patients that arrive at the casualty department are examined. Families that have elderly disabled persons at home often then bring the disabled to the emergency ward on some pretext of acute distress and then disappear, leaving the elderly person in the care of the hospital. The responsibility of providing sufficient geriatric institutions rests with departments of health, municipalities, and medical aid societies. Until such provision is made, hospitals will remain overcrowded with people who only require good auxiliary nursing care.