Background and aims: Emergency admissions of frail older people in care homes, many of whom have dementia, are critical events which should be avoided if possible. To identify and influence factors related to emergency admissions and place of death.
Design of study: Completed audit cycle.
Setting: Jenner Health Centre patients in six local care homes. Data collection over 12 months in 05/6, repeated in 08/9. Emergency admissions, admitting health professional, assessment prior to admission, length of hospital stay, annual visit workload and place of death.
Results: Admission numbers fell from 91 (194 patients) in 05/6 to 52 (183 patients) in 08/9, related to a fall in admissions by general practitioners (GPs) and out of hours (OOH). The proportion of admissions by care home staff doubled. There was a highly significant difference (P < 0.001), between GPs and OOH in patients visited prior to admission in 05/6 which persisted in 08/9 (P < 0.01). A hospital stay >72 hours was significantly more likely if patients were visited prior to admission. In 05/6, 55% of deaths occurred in the care home rising to 75.5% in 08/9 (total numbers deaths unchanged). There was a highly significant difference (P < 0.001 05/6 and 08/9), between deaths in nursing compared with residential homes. GP visits to nursing home patients rose by 10.3% but visits to residential home patients fell by 5.4%.
Conclusions: The aims of the audit were achieved with a 43% reduction in emergency admissions and a 45% reduction in deaths in hospital but at the expense of a 12% increase in visits. Improved anticipatory planning and increased medical and nursing support for patients and staff in residential homes may help to further reduce emergency admissions and deaths in hospital in future.
© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.