Attitudes and anxieties of elderly patients on admission to a geriatric assessment unit

A semi-structured interview schedule has been used to investigate the attitudes and anxieties of 100 lucid elderly patients on admission to a geriatric assessment unit. Results show that most patients are unconcerned by admission to a geriatric unit and expect a favourable outcome. A minority, mainly higher social class patients, or those who do not live with a close relative, are disturbed by the geriatric nature of the ward and in particularly by the presence of confused patients. More than half the group reacted unfavourably to the idea of admission to local authority residential accommodation.