Background Globally, the number of older people is rising. As a consequence of greater longevity, an increased burden on both medical and mental health care is expected. As a first step towards developing strategies to provide quality mental health care for this growing population, practitioners need to have a thorough understanding of the composition and needs of these patients. Aim To profile the inpatient population of a psychogeriatric unit in terms of demographics, diagnostic makeup, average length of stay and selected outcomes. Setting This study was conducted at the psychogeriatric unit of Stikland Hospital, Western Cape, South Africa. Methods Demographic and clinical data were retrospectively collected from patient files, discharge summaries and an admission database over a 3-year period. Results A total of 903 patients were referred to Stikland Hospital during a 3-year period. Of the 498 patients who were admitted, 56 were readmissions. The mean age of patients was 67 years, and more than 57% of patients were female. The majority of patients (97.1%) were admitted as involuntary mental health users. The diagnosis of a cognitive disorder was made in 49.5% of admissions followed by psychotic disorders in 36.9% and mood disorders in 23.2%. The median length of stay was 53 days. Conclusion The findings of this study illustrate that mental health services for the elderly in the Western Cape are insufficient, as only patients with severe illness and comorbidity could be admitted. The study emphasises the need for the restructuring of resources and the implementation of strategies, which may decrease the frequency of admissions to inpatient geriatric units.

中文翻译：

---

斯蒂克兰医院老年精神科住院病人的临床概况。

背景 在全球范围内，老年人的数量正在上升。由于寿命延长，预计医疗和精神卫生保健的负担会增加。作为制定为这一不断增长的人口提供优质心理保健服务的战略的第一步，从业者需要对这些患者的构成和需求有透彻的了解。目的 根据人口统计学、诊断构成、平均住院时间和选定结果来描述老年精神科的住院人群。设置 本研究在南非西开普省 Stikland 医院的老年心理科进行。方法 从患者档案、出院总结和入院数据库中回顾性收集 3 年期间的人口统计学和临床​​数据。结果 3 年内共有 903 名患者被转诊至 Stikland 医院。在入院的 498 名患者中，有 56 人再次入院。患者的平均年龄为 67 岁，超过 57% 的患者为女性。大多数患者（97.1%）被接纳为非自愿的心理健康使用者。49.5% 的入院患者被诊断为认知障碍，其次是 36.9% 的精神障碍和 23.2% 的情绪障碍。中位住院天数为 53 天。结论 本研究结果表明，西开普省老年人的心理健康服务不足，因为只有患有严重疾病和合并症的患者才能入院。该研究强调需要重组资源和实施战略，