[Gerontopsychiatry in the psychiatric land hospital (author's transl)]

Care of geriatric patients is a significant, comprehensive and at the same time difficult task facing the psychiatric hospitals run by the Land government. In this field of psychiatry too, new approaches and concepts are beginning to materialise, which, however, are rendered even more difficult by many obstacles which have to be overcome. The present article reports from the practice of a Land hospital, and describes the new accents which have to be placed on diagnostic and therapeutic aspects as a result of the opening of a new ward for gerontopsychiatric patients, and explains how these new aspects influence prognosis. The article is based on the data of 200 patients whose treatment has been completed after this study was taken up. The purpose of this article is to provide a first critical reflection on the work done by the hospital and its staff, including the stimulation of discussions with other institutes and the outpatients field of activities.