Abstract
Geriatrics has consistently failed to attract enough staff, and hence geriatric units often cannot provide a full service for the elderly. Meanwhile beds in general medical units may be blocked by elderly patients. This division between geriatric and medical units is arbitrary and wasteful. There are no clinical processes or techniques unique to geriatrics, which is probably why the specialty is unattractive; few doctors want to confine their attention only to the elderly. Geriatrics as a separate specialty should therefore be largely abandoned and the care of the elderly reintegrated into general medicine.
Full text
PDF

Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- McArdle C., Wylie J. C., Alexander W. D. Geriatric patients in an acute medical ward. Br Med J. 1975 Dec 6;4(5996):568–569. doi: 10.1136/bmj.4.5996.568. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
