British Geriatrics Society

Most people in England receive a good quality of care. Our ratings show that quality overall has been largely maintained from last year, and in some cases improved, despite the continuing challenges that providers face. Some services have improved due to the focus and hard work of care staf and their leadership teams. Others have declined in quality as providers have struggled with the challenges they face.

Policy

Managing Frailty and Delayed Transfers of Care in the Acute Setting: A call to get involved!

30 July 2018

This project provides a unique data set on the pathway of frail older people through secondary care, from assessment in A&E, assessment units, inpatient wards and supported discharge. The project gives insight into why this cohort of patients appear to be more prone to delayed transfers of care. The BGS has also worked with the NHS Benchmarking Network to develop a short service user audit which will be included in the project.

Survey: National Study of Resilience and Burnout in UK Doctors

07 September 2018

The QOLCARE Study Group invites visitors to complete a survey which explores how doctors rate their professional quality of life and job satisfaction.

Vacancy: BGS representative on the Steering Group of The National Audit of Intermediate Care (NAIC)

04 September 2018

We are inviting expressions of interest from suitably experienced BGS members to take over as our second representative on the NAIC Steering Group. Our outgoing representative, Dr Fiona Kearney, has kindly agreed to brief her successor once appointed.

Vacancy: BGS representative on the Joint Stroke Medicine Committee

04 September 2018

We are inviting expressions of interest from suitably experienced BGS members to take over as our representative on the committee. Our former representative, Professor Potter has kindly agreed to brief his successor once appointed.

Even flocks of starlings can teach us about frailty and resilience

04 October 2018

Until recently, frailty has been almost entirely seen through the prism of 'deficits', but there has been growing attention to protective factors, or ‘assets’, and the importance of 'resilience'.

Professor Peter Millard 1937- 2018

02 October 2018

Funding Opportunities for Researchers

19 October 2018

Welcome to this month’s Funding Opportunities Newsletter, compiled by the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences of Queen's University, Belfast, using Research Professional, which gives a snapshot of funding opportunities that may be of interest to researchers.

Applications invited for the BGS Movement Disorders Section Essay Prize 2018/19

The BGS Movement Disorders Section runs an essay competition, open to medical, nursing and therapy students. Closing date for entries: 22 February 2019

Vacancy: Clinical Research Fellow in Sleep Medicine, University of Edinburgh

An exciting opportunity for a full-time clinical research fellow. Closing date: 24 October 2018

Vacancy: Geriatrician, New Zealand

The Hawke's Bay District Health Board seeks a dynamic specialist geriatrician with good leadership skills to join the Health of Older People's team at Hawke's Bay DHB

BGS Rising Star Awards 2019 - Now Open For Applications!

16 October 2018

Each year The British Geriatrics Society bestows two Rising Star Awards, one for research contributions that have translated into, or are in the process of being translated into, improvements to care of older people. The second is for clinical quality or work project that demonstrates that the nominee has improved the care of older people with frailty in their locality. Applications are now open until 11 January 2019, 5 p.m..

New consensus to enable early detection and treatment of sarcopenia

12 October 2018

A new consensus enabling the early detection and treatment of sarcopenia was published today in Age and Ageing, the scientific journal of the British Geriatrics Society.

The state of health care and adult social care in England - 2017/18

Policy

Congratulations to the winners of the BGS EAMA Awards

08 October 2018

Congratulations to Dr Richard Dodds and Dr Melanie Dani - the winners of the BGS EAMA awards in 2018.

Autumn Speakers Series: Practising what we preach – Sit Less Move More!

22 October 2018

There has been a flurry of activity in research, as well as in practice, on the importance of patients moving more and the perils of deconditioning whilst in hospital. #EndPJParalysis has had a huge profile and is starting to make inroads in terms of getting patients dressed and potentially more comfortable to move about more. But are we seeing a change in how much patients are moving?

Blog

Is ‘patient’ a dirty word?

I believe that we, people working with older people, are the forerunners in person-centred care. In fact, one of the main reasons that I love my job is the ability to tailor treatment to an individual’s wishes and goals. So in this age of person-centredness, I’d like to ask you: Is ‘patient’ a dirty word?

The Oxford Handbook of Geriatric Medicine (3rd edition): the geriatrician who is available for advice at all times

15 October 2018

The past decade has seen a proliferation of textbooks in geriatric medicine – definitely a good thing for the specialty and our patients. But in this competitive space it has become more challenging to find a single book to recommend to non-specialty trainees or medical students!

Jeremy Kyle is the new best friend of many… Is this an issue we should be interested in?

12 October 2018

Autumn Speakers Series: 'Care workers' not 'carers'

08 October 2018

The National Association of Care & Support Workers conducted its first research into the well-being of care workers this year. Overwhelmingly, the results indicate that there is still a lot of work required to improve the mental health and well-being - as well as the professional standing - of care and support workers.

The Community – Where Life Happens

05 October 2018

Most people spend most of their lives not in hospital. This, contrary to the peculiarly hospitalist view of most physicians, is the case even for older people with frailty. It’s odd, therefore, for geriatrics, a medical specialty that prides itself on holism, on adding life to years, on focussing on health rather than disease, to still do most of its work in hospital.

Even flocks of starlings can teach us about frailty and resilience

04 October 2018

Until recently, frailty has been almost entirely seen through the prism of 'deficits', but there has been growing attention to protective factors, or ‘assets’, and the importance of 'resilience'.

Working Together Across the Great Healthcare Divide

02 October 2018

It’s traditional to start any piece of writing on older people with frailty with a reminder that there are a lot of them, and that there will be a lot more of them in the future. This will not come as a surprise to frequenters of the British Geriatrics Society website.

NIHR Funder Resource Pack

15 October 2018

The NIHR Funder Resource Pack is designed to strengthen connections between research funders and the Clinical Research Network, to help improve research delivery in the NHS.

Fact sheet

Broadening horizons through international collaboration – the Anglo-Dutch Experience

15 October 2018

As part of our international outreach theme, Adam Gordon describes his various collaborations with colleagues in the Netherlands.

The journey towards genuine integration - more stories from Africa

David Attwood combines the story of his time in Africa with the principle of understanding the work of GPs and working towards better integration among the different professions.

African outreach

Richard Walker describes his experiences of working and researching in Africa. He says: There is always a demand for geriatrics training in LMICs whether this be short courses for interested doctors or long term training programmes with mentorship.

The state of health care and adult social care in England - 2017/18

This year’s CQC State of Care builds on the July 2018 report about the way that older people in 20 English local areas experienced care as they moved between the different services they need.

Report

Outreach in the East

Duncan Forsyth has been involved with teaching Geriatric Medicine in Malaysia since 2003. Here he describes the opportunities that his Far East experiences have produced.

Geriatric medicine - spreading the word abroad

In this issue of the newsletter, we have articles from BGS members who have spent time in other countries, teaching, lecturing, researching or delivering services. We would like to hear from members who may be interested in these opportunities.

An interview with Prof Tahir Masud - BGS President Elect

At the AGM in November, Prof Tahir Masud will succeed Dr Eileen Burns as President of the Society. We asked Tash about the journey that led him to this point.