Centre for Policy on Ageing



Older people's use of NHS Direct
Author(s)	Wen-Chin Hsu, Peter A Bath, Shirley Large, Sarah Williams
Journal title	Age and Ageing, vol 40, no 3, May 2011
Pages	pp 335-340
Source	http://ageing.oxfordjournals.org/ http://www.bgs.org.uk/
Keywords	National Health Service ; Medical care ; Advisory services [elderly] ; Telephone ; Usage [services].
Annotation	NHS Direct is a 24-hour telephone health information and advice service which aims to help callers manage health problems and relieve pressure on primary health services. The aim of this study was to describe older people's use of NHS Direct and to explore differences in the use of NHS Direct among subgroups of older people. Data on all calls made to NHS Direct by, or on behalf of, people aged 65 and over between December 2007 and November 2008 were analysed. Nearly 403,000 telephone calls were made to NHS-Direct regarding older people during the 12-month study period. The call rate was higher among women and in older age groups. Most calls were regarding actual symptoms, e.g. pain, digestive problems. Results of the study will help with the planning and development of services to meet the needs of the older population. (JL).
Accession Number	CPA-110621005 A
Classmark	L4: LK: IT: UJ: QLD
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.