Poor inpatient care for older people.

The author offers his views on providing care for frail older people. He cites the concern over the report from the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) on the perioperative care of older people. He notes that only 38 percent of patients received care considered as good by the NCEPOD. He proposes developing multidimensional approaches to improve health outcomes and minimise harm in older people in hospital. He calls for widely disseminating the essential skills for providing good clinical care.