A framework to promote the holistic assessment of older people in emergency care.

Do doctors working in emergency care settings have the time or inclination to undertake a structured social assessment of older patients? This study suggests they are willing but that pressure on doctors’ time may constrain the implementation of such a framework

Junior doctors working in accident and emergency (A&E) departments and other emergency settings soon learn the art of clerking patients speedily. They act as gatekeepers; their aim is to collate sufficient clinical information, also known as ‘patient history’, to facilitate a decision, such as a referral to other on-call teams or to expedite a discharge/transfer to other settings. Taking a social history forms part of the process known as ‘clerking’, yet there has never been any formal training for this part of the history-taking process for medical students.