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Older people
Direct geriatric admission depends on geography
Disparities in direct access to acute geriatric care - an observational analysis of geographic variations of ambulance conveyance
BMC Geriatrics · 2026-10-02 · Added 3 October 2026
Swedish register study of 8208 ambulance-transported patients aged ≥65 in Stockholm found only 7% went directly to a geriatric unit instead of an ED, with conveyance rates varying fourfold (4–21%) between hospital service areas and largely explained by distance, ownership and staffed-bed numbers.
- Study type
- Cross-sectional
- Design
- Cross-sectional register-based study
- Participants
- 8208 patients aged ≥65, Stockholm 2017–2019
- Main finding
- 603 patients (7%) directly admitted to geriatric units; crude conveyance rates ranged 4–21% across service areas, with supply-side factors (proximity, ownership, bed numbers) explaining most between-area variation
- Caveat
- Single Swedish region with a geriatric-unit structure quite unlike Australian hospital systems
- Bottom line
- Context only
Why it matters in Australia (Medium relevance). Alternative destinations for older people are an active question for Australian services, but direct geriatric-unit admission isn't a pathway most Australian systems offer.
Learning goal
Recognise how geography and system factors shape older patients' access to acute care after ambulance assessment.
More
- Topic: Older people
- Daily scan: 3 October 2026
- Podcast: Paramedic Papers Daily, 3 October 2026
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