Pensioners attending an accident and emergency department

A three-month prospective study of the 1026 pensioners attending the Accident and Emergency Department (A.E.D.) at Oldham is reported. Although they constituted 9.8% of the total attendance, they formed 36.5% of all admissions. Proportionate admission of males was higher than females. Over half the total admissions were due to medical emergencies, whereas only a quarter were due to injury. Contrary to the general impression, the survey showed that the use of A.E.D. and 999 Emergency services was appropriate. Self-referral rate was high, but most of the old people who tried first to contact their general practitioner succeeded in doing so.