Reasons for older people attending A&E

This study aimed to identify any shortfalls in the discharge of older people from an A&E departments and areas in which improvements could be made. The findings highlighted the fact that more than 40% of the attendances to A&E did not require urgent treatment and that nearly 59% of attenders lived alone. The terms 'justifiable' and 'unjustifiable', applied to attendances in the study group, are used in the paper to differentiate between cases where immediate attention was required and where it was not. This judgement was based on the author's professional knowledge (see discussion section).