Intermediate care: policy before evidence

Intermediate care had the characteristics of much new national policy when it was launched; it lacked definition, had no evidence for its effectiveness, and was aimed at solving a problem that it was unlikely to impact on—in this case overcrowding in hospitals. It is therefore good to see new evidence on the effectiveness of a service that fits under the umbrella term “intermediate care” compared with care in a district general hospital department for the care of elderly people, as reported by Green et al.1 The relation between older people and hospitals is a complex one. A suspicion among several …