An orthopaedic geriatric rehabilitation unit: the first two years experience

Experience of the first two years of an orthopaedic geriatric rehabilitation unit is described. There were 325 admissions comprising 271 females and 54 males. The predominant diagnosis was fracture of the proximal femur. Average length of stay in the unit was 43 days for males and 36.7 days for females. 75.9% of patients admitted from home returned there and 66.1% of patients admitted from residential care returned to similar accommodation. In the first year there was a fall of 13.5 days in the average length of stay for elderly females with proximal femoral fracture, resulting in 2175 less bed days for this diagnosis. This improvement has continued.