Most physical illness effects people at the extremes of life, particularly in late life. A significant proportion of hospitalized older patients will experience some mental health problems, and medical units lacking specialist old age psychiatric services must rely on adult psychiatric and consultation liaison services for support. These generalists assume the role of old age psychiatrists by default. A key aim of the book is to provide guidelines for the appropriate treatment of psychiatric disorders in older people when medical illness complicates the picture. The book is divided into five sections. The first two sections cover the nature of the problem and initial assessment procedures. Section three focuses on specific disorders, including, amongst others, the most common reasons for referral - dementia, depression and delirium. Section four provides guidelines for treatment including pharmacological therapies, psychotherapeutic interventions and the use of ECT. The book concludes with short section considering the ethical and legal issues involved. This book covers the theoretical and practical knowledge required by psychiatrists in training, those seeking to specialize in consultation liaison or old age psychiatry, geriatricians and general practitioners. It will also be of interest to all other members of the healthcare team responsible for the medical management of older patients.

In an ageing world, the delivery of psychogeriatric services in an effective and efficient manner is an increasing concern for health service providers and administrators in both developed and developing countries. Despite awareness of the anticipated mental health needs of the ageing population, services for older people have been slow to develop in many places, and in some places do not exist at all. This volume brings together the theory and practice of psychogeriatric service delivery from an international perspective. It examines the range of different service models, perspectives and ideas with the evidence-base for each, providing a unique resource for those planning and administering psychogeriatric services. The first section of the book discusses the theory behind psychogeriatric service delivery, including its history, service delivery principles, needs analysis, population-based service planning, economics and funding, and evidence-based service delivery. Section two concentrates on practice, describing examples of service delivery from a number of European, American, African, Asian and Australasian settings. The third section focuses on solutions, evaluating the range of delivery settings and considering the needs of both consumers and carers.