In Ireland, the demographic pressure of greater numbers of elderly people surviving longer with an attendant increase in the prevalence of dementia and depression compounded by the running down of old mental hospitals and the closure of smaller general hospitals has provoked debate on the need for Old Age Psychiatry (Psychogeriatric) Services.
The first Old Age Psychiatry service in the Republic of Ireland started in North Dublin in January 1989. Detailed information on all referrals (173) assessed in the first six months of operation was collected and is presented. The findings are discussed in the context of the stated government policy of caring for the elderly within the community setting.
