Older people in hospital
A report on older people in hospitals, released by the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare, examines the reasons why older people go to hospital, the type of care they receive and how long they stay.
Report co-author, Rosemary Karmel, said it is well-known that as
people get older they tend to have more health problems and so are increasingly likely to use hospital services.
However, limited information is readily available on why and how older Australians use hospitals, or how their hospital use varies with illness, age or sex. Knowledge of these issues is an important aid for planning effective health services, she said.
The report, Older Australians in Hospital, shows that on the night of 30 June 2004, around 55,200 people spent the night in hospital and over half (53% or 29,000 people) were aged 65 and over.
