[Day care for psychogeriatric nursing home patients in 1979]

Recently day care facilities are available for psychogeriatric patients. With a national survey we tried to get insight into how and where in 1979 the day care facilities for psychogeriatric patients in The Netherlands were functioning. The data collected revealed that this type of care is yet only on a small scale -- and not evenly spread out over the country -- available. The ratio of nursing home beds and of day-care places per thousand of the population of 65 years and older varies from province to province. A description is given of the organization of the day-care facility, the staffing and the coordination of the treatment offered. About half of the patients who finished the day-treatment in 1979 after a period of five to six months of care, were admitted to an intramural health service. We have tried to find reasons for this. Poor contact between the staff of the day-care facility and others like the general practitioner and the social psychogeriatric outpatient service might be a reason, the capacity of nursing home beds another.