ABSTRACT
Perhaps the first question to ask when considering establishing a geriatric day care service is: ‘What would a day hospital do for my area?’ The answer will depend to some extent on the nature of the community which the day hospital is to serve. In a rural area where the provision of day care by social services is minimal, the emphasis may have to be on a ‘custodial’ service. In a large town where the local authority runs day centres which are able to cater for the essentially ‘social’ need, and where there are day care facilities for psychogeriatric patients, and for the younger disabled, it may well be possible to concentrate on a rehabilitation-orientated service with a high turnover.
