Intermediate geriatric care in Geneva: A 10-year experience

The ageing of the population generates an increased demand for acute healthcare services in persons aged over 65, who can represent up to half of the patients treated in intensive care units (ICU). However, the number of available ICU beds is limited. Intermediate care units (IntCU), requires less human and technical resources, and has been proposed as an alternative to intensive care in the geriatric population. This article reports a 10-year, single centre experience from Geneva of continuous care and its impact on mortality in a geriatric population. Between 1998–1999 and 2000–2001, after the creation of the IntCU, we observed a significant reduction in in-hospital mortality. Thanks to increased medical and nursing care, IntCUs provide greater security for patients and their family, thereby improving their satisfaction with care.