Comprehensive care of elderly patients in a surgical/geriatric unit.

In Sunderland, acute medical hospital admissions for patients aged 65 and over are cared for primarily by the Consultant Physician in Geriatric Medicine. Many patients have associated surgical problems, and since 1954 these have been investigated and treated in the Surgical/Geriatric wards. This paper examines the type of work encountered and attempts to evaluate the benefits of this combined approach.