RESUMEN
With reference to the great changes made in recent years within the Danish psychiatric services, we compared the demand for care of acute psychiatric patients with the care offered. Over a period of three months in 1991 we prospectively registered all 243 acute psychiatric referrals to Svendborg Hospital, with regard to age, sex, way and source of referral, diagnosis, need for care and care offered. The result was compared with similar surveys in 1980 and 1985. We found that optimal treatment was not available to approximately 20% of the acute psychiatric referrals, the care we most often were unable to offer was acute admission to the psychiatric ward of Svendborg Hospital. We also found that from 1980 to 1991 there were no changes in the number of daily referrals, in the sex ratio or the age distribution of the patients. Our ability to meet the specific needs for care changes quantitatively throughout the period. The survey concludes that we are still unable to meet the specific needs for treatment of acute psychiatric referrals. Various suggestions are made as to how to improve the services offered to acute psychiatric patients.