The forgotten people: survey of the chronic younger sick in Welsh hospitals.

In a survey of Welsh hospitals, 96 patients were identified who had been continuously resident for between 4 months and 20 years; they were aged between 15 and 65 years on admission. The commonest causes for such admissions were cerebrovascular accidents, trauma and diabetes. Suitable facilities for the long-term care and rehabilitation of such severely disabled young people are very limited in Wales, and in an era when rehabilitation should be possible they have been forgotten.