Outreach programs from emergency departments to facilities could provide better care for residents.

New and targeted models of care are needed to reduce the increasing number of hospital visits made by aged care residents, many which are unnecessary and can cause further complications.

This is according to a Queensland research paper which received the Phillipa Moore prize for its contribution to the practice of emergency nursing.

Using data from more than 9000 presentations to emergency departments, the research compared the health outcomes of people over 65 years living in aged care facilities with those of older people who live in the wider community over a 12 month period.

It was found that aged care residents were 15 per cent more likely to be admitted to hospital and faced longer stays once they were there (five days compared to three days for non aged care residents).

“There are times when aged care residents are transferred to the ED with non-urgent conditions that could have been treated in the aged care facility,” said Julia Crilly, lead author of the study.

Aged care residents are also more likely to be readmitted after they returned home.

The findings have significant implications for nursing practice and new models of care, said Crilly.

“Previous models of emergency department care have been designed for the acutely ill and injured patient, not a medically complicated, slow moving, functionally impaired elderly patient,” she said.

Outreach programs from emergency departments to aged care facilities may provide more appropriate care for many residents, Crill said.

“One new model may be Hospital in the Nursing Home, a model that aims to reduce the frequency of inappropriate transfers to emergency departments and improve continuity of care for aged care facility residents with acute conditions or acute exacerbations of chronic conditions,” Crilly said.

“While further investigation is needed, this is a model of care that has the potential to benefit both the patient and provider.”

The research team was from the Gold Coast Hospital and Griffith University’s Research Centre for Clinical and Community Practice Innovation.