Psychiatric assessment of older people
Jonathan Huntley, Alan Thomas, Robert Stewart
Abstract
The venue for psychiatric assessment varies, but given the choice, there are substantial advantages in the first assessment being conducted at home. The aims of assessment are to do more than achieve a diagnosis, though this is crucial; the aim should also be to produce a holistic assessment of all needs, leading to the involvement of a range of appropriate professionals in health and social care services to address these needs and carry out their own specialist assessments. Information from informants will supplement that of the patient and enable completion of all the important domains in the psychiatric history. The mental state examination will include a special emphasis on cognitive assessment, and a brief physical examination looking for neurological signs is important.