[The National Hospital Federation report: assessment of the elderly with mental disorders]

Since long there is a discussion in the Netherlands about the definition of assessment and the place where observation of psychogeriatric patients could take place: geriatric department general hospital, psychogeriatric unit, psychiatric hospital or psychogeriatric nursing-home. The report gives a very good description of an assessment program by a multidisplinary team with a social, psychiatric, somatic, psychological screening and behaviour observation. Conditions for quality and assessment are developed and seen as conditions for official recognition by the authorities, wherever it may be in a hospital, psychiatric hospital or nursing home. This report fails however to elucidate the term 'screening' and the responsibility of the proposed team. The central role of ambulant services like the social psychogeriatric services is underestimated. Uncertainly about the place of assessment in the system of health care in the Netherlands makes the proposed uniform financing of assessment an illusion.