To share our experience of establishing an acute outreach service to nursing homes and to evaluate the impact of such service on emergency department presentations, data were drawn from a pre‐existing database from 2013 to 2017. Of the 986 acute patients treated in 12 nursing homes over a 23‐month period, the acute geriatric outreach service was shown to be safe, with few adverse events (one allergic reaction) and 5.3% of patients required transfer to hospital. The acute service decreased emergency department presentation of nursing home patients by 10% compared to the subacute service (incidence rate ratio = 0.90; 95% confidence interval: 0.84–0.96; P = 0.001). Cost–benefit analysis showed for every $1 spent, a saving of $5 was realised.

Australians aged 65 and older are projected to rise from 15% in 2016 to 19% by 2030. 1 Over 170, 000 adults aged 65 and older live in residential aged care facilities. 2 People living in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) are often frail and have medically complex care needs. The average age of RACF residents is 84.5 years. Fifty percent of residents have dementia, 26% have a mental illness but no dementia, and 22% neither have dementia or a mental illness. Twenty-nine percent of male and 18% of female residents have had a stroke, head injury, or acquired brain injury. Fiftyfour percent of residents have a musculoskeletal disorder, 18% have heart disease, 10% have another neurological disorder, and 7% have cancer. 3