Social-medical patients attending the casualty department

A spot test comprising 10% of 50,481 casualty departments from the period 1.1.1979 to 31.12.1979 revealed that 321 of the patients attending the casualty department in Glostrup Hospital were social-medical patients. This term is employed for patients who have problems in one or more of the following groups: acute abuse of alcohol, chronic abuse of alcohol, acute abuse of medicine, chronic abuse of medicine, attempted suicide, violence and psychiatric problems (excluding attempted suicide). Approximately 1/3 of these 321 social-medical patients were women and 2/3 men. The majority sought the casualty department during the afternoon, evening or early during the night. The average age for men was lower that that of the women. The problems for which the men sought the casualty department were most frequently acute abuse of alcohol and violence, while women came most frequently on account of psychiatric problems and acute abuse of medicine. It could be demonstrated that the social-medical patients frequently had several different types of problems and it was further demonstrated that it was frequently the medical casualty officer who had to sort out these problems. These social-medical patients present a considerable work-load for the casualty department and a number of these patients attend the casualty department on several occasions in the course of a year. The present treatment of these social-medical patients appears to be inadequate and two alternative proposals are suggested to cope with the situation.