ABSTRACT
Most health workers would agree that any elderly person admitted to hospital for treatment of physical or psychiatric illness, should have access to a health care team including doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and social workers. Traditionally the most physically or mentally disabled elderly people in society were cared for in National Health Service facilities. The Beveridge report was presented to Parliament in 1942 and underpinned the subsequent formation of the National Health Service. It was a plan for social insurance providing medical care and the payment of family allowances and old age pensions. Traditionally, specialised services for the elderly mentally ill were provided by the National Health Service and Social Services Departments and these agencies provide the bulk of specialised services. The health service too provides a range of professionals to assist elderly people in the community, in addition to the range of services offered through the general practitioner and local hospital services.
