[Implementation of the HoNOS65+].

Background: In the last few years mental healthcare has had to become increasingly accountable to health insurance companies, the government and patient groups with regard to the efficacy, appropriateness and patient-friendliness of the care provided. Routine outcome assessment, based on various measuring instruments, is likely to become more and more frequent in the years to come.

Aim: To assess whether the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales for elderly people (HoNOS65+) can be successfully implemented within a psychiatric unit for older persons, whether the instrument is suitable for use in clinical practice and whether it provides an adequate picture of the older population in general.

Method: The implementation phase consisted of training 51 social workers within the various sections of the unit. The trained social workers used the HoNOS65+ with 387 patients from various units for older persons within Lentis.

Results: The social workers found the HoNOS65+ to be a useful instrument and for each treatment setting and diagnosis it differentiated significantly between types of behaviour problems, symptoms and social problems.

Conclusion: The HoNOS65+ can be used profitably with individual patients and patient groups and it highlights the problems in relevant areas of psychiatry for older persons.