Partnership nursing home care for dementia: the Glasgow experience--one-year follow-up

The outcome of the transfer of 60 elderly patients suffering from dementia from hospital to nursing home care under a partnership contract was reviewed at 6 and 12 months following transfer. The nursing home population had fared badly compared with patients remaining in hospital during the first 3 months. This difference was less evident at 6 months follow-up and had disappeared at 12 months follow-up. It seems that a partnership agreement such as this can deliver a quality of health care at least as good as hospital treatment as long as the transfer is handled carefully.