Appropriateness of Admission and the Last 24 Hours of Hospital Care in Medical Wards in an East London Teaching Group Hospital

Abstract

There is clearly considerable room for improvement in relation to cooperation between service providers in order to maximise efficient bed use. Delays due to waiting for medications from pharmacy, and the combination of more "inappropriate" cases wanting help from social services after discharge with the fact that many of them were still in hospital because they were waiting for these services to be organized, suggest that inappropriateness could be reduced through increased efficiency or increased provision in these areas. The study reported here is unique in its inclusion of patient interview data.