asked the Minister for Health the present position regarding the provision of geriatric assessment services.
Written Answers. - Geriatric Assessment Services.
138.
In the development of institutional services for the elderly more emphasis is being placed on proper assessment so that the needs of the patient are indentified at an early stage and steps taken to meet these needs. The general approach to providing an assessment service is to have a geriatric assessment unit as a specialised department in a general hospital with a physician in geriatric medicine as the consultant in charge of the unit. The planning of all new general hospitals contains provision for geriatric assessment units. In a number of hospitals geriatric assessment services are under the direction of a general physician or a general practitioner with a special interest in the elderly. Geriatric assessment services are currently provided at the following hospitals:
St. Vincent's Hospital, Dublin;
St. James's Hospital, Dublin;
James Connolly Memorial Hospital, Dublin;
St. Laurence's Hospital, Dublin;
St. Mary's Hospital, Dublin;
St. Finbarr's Hospital, Cork;
Merlin Park Hospital, Galway;
Castlebar General Hospital;
Sacred Heart Home, Castlebar;
Sligo General Hospital;
St. Patrick's Hospital, Cashel;
St. Columba's Hospital, Thomastown;
St. John's Hospital, Enniscorthy.
Plans are currently in preparation for the establishment of geriatric assessment facilities in the Mid-Western and North-Eastern Health Board areas and for the improvement of these services in the South-Eastern and Southern Health Board areas.