A Practice Primer on Mental Health in Older People

Many older people with persistent psychotic symptoms decline assessment by specialist mental health services due to preferring the established relationships with their GPs.

With ninety percent of older people consulting their GP at least once each year, primary care plays a pivotal role. This summary of mental health problems in older people, which are not directly related to physical illness or brain disease, underlines the risk primary care professionals take when attributing symptoms to ‘old age’ or considering the patients’ situation as futile.