This study of older people's mental health services assessed available national data and visited specialist mental health trusts. The interview tool covered questions relation to several of the core standards used by the Healthcare Commission to assess trusts' performance. The key findings are reported in four main themes: age discrimination, the quality of inpatient care, the comprehensiveness of services; and working with other organisations (how specialist services worked with primary care, adult social services and acute hospitals). The findings highlight strengths and weakness of services, and key priorities for improvement are included.
