British Geriatrics Society

BGS statement on the end of discharge funding

18 Feb 2021

COVID-19: Managing the COVID-19 pandemic in care homes

04 Dec 2020

Events

10 June

The BGS Spring Meeting 2021 is taking place on 28-30 April.

Spring Conference

Popular Resources

Featured Policy & Media Blogs Resources

COVID-19: Vaccinations and older people

06 January 2021

The first vaccines for COVID-19 have been approved for use in the UK and older people are being prioritised for access to the vaccine. This page brings together current information on vaccination, including BGS position statements, Q&As and useful external links.

First published 30 Mar 2020

Position paper

Scottish Care of Older People (SCoOP) Project

20 January 2021

Scottish Care of Older People (SCoOP) is a Scottish national evaluation project focusing on care of older people across Scotland in both primary and secondary care settings.

#BGSFairCare: Our letters to Ministers

02 November 2020

Read our letters to the Health Ministers in each of the four nations of the UK asking them to take urgent action to protect older people during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19: Managing the COVID-19 pandemic in care homes

The COVID-19 pandemic raises particular challenges for care home residents, their families and the staff that look after them. This guidance has been developed to help care home staff and NHS staff who work with them to support residents through the pandemic.

Frailty Hub: Introduction to frailty

23 June 2020

Find out what frailty is and how it can be diagnosed and managed.

Keeping older people safe and well at home

21 April 2020

These resources have been developed to help keep older people safe at home by reducing deconditioning and falls hazards, supporting people with conditions such as dementia or Parkinson's, and improving overall wellbeing to help to keep their minds and bodies active.

Fact sheet

End of Life Care in Frailty: Introduction and Foreword

12 May 2020

Introduction from Dr Eileen Burns, Consultant Physician and Past President of British Geriatrics Society, and foreword by Dr Sarah Russell, family carer.

Clinical guidelines

Atypical Covid-19 presentations in older people – the need for continued vigilance

14 April 2020

Over the past month the landscape of healthcare has dramatically changed as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. All acute trusts, primary care organisations and social services have had to remodel their working patterns in order to manage the rising number of patients with Covid-19.

Leading experts in frailty launch the Silver Book II in collaboration with the British Geriatrics Society

The Silver Book II, written by leading international experts in frailty and hosted by the British Geriatrics Society, addresses a wide range of urgent care issues specific to older people.

BGS statement on the end of discharge funding

18 February 2021

The British Geriatrics Society welcomed the announcement in August last year of new funding of £588 million to support the health and social care needs of people being discharged from hospital for up to six weeks. This support must now become standard and funding must be available for this through NHS baseline funding.

BGS statement in response to NHS White Paper

11 February 2021

The British Geriatrics Society welcomes plans outlined in the NHS White Paper to reduce bureaucracy and increase integration across health and social care. While legislation will not remove all of the current barriers to integration, it will help to ensure that older people are able to access the health and care services that they need.

Policy

BGS update on the interval between the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine

02 February 2021

The British Geriatrics Society supported the recommendation of the Chief Medical Officers of the four nations to extend the interval between the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This approach aimed to protect the greatest number of at-risk people overall in the shortest possible time, to have the greatest impact on reducing mortality, severe disease and hospitalisations and to protect the NHS and equivalent health services.

BGS responds to RCP’s report ‘Double or quits: a blueprint for expanding medical school places’

27 January 2021

On Tuesday 5 January, the Royal College of Physicians published a report ‘Double or quits: a blueprint for expanding medical school places’. This follows the RCP’s call for the number of medical school places to be doubled in 2018. The report looks at how to implement such an expansion including a blueprint for growth covering the model of provision, the costs, challenges and opportunities.

Prestigious Dhole-Eddlestone Memorial Prize awarded to ‘Probable delirium is a presenting symptom of COVID-19 in frail, older adults'

13 January 2021

The prize is given annually to the most deserving medical research relating to the needs of older people, published over the last year in the scientific journal of the British Geriatrics Society, Age and Ageing.

BGS statement on vaccination prioritisation for healthcare professionals working with older people

12 January 2021

We believe it is vital that all healthcare professionals caring for older people in all settings, including social care and care homes, are protected from COVID as soon as possible.

Policy

BGS statement on COVID-19 vaccines

06 January 2021

The BGS supports the statement made by the Chief Medical Officers of the four countries of the UK on 30 December, and their subsequent letter to the profession.

Long Covid: An Age-old concept?

25 February 2021

With over 69 million reported cases of COVID-19 worldwide, we have all experienced rapid and dramatic changes to our healthcare services over the last 12 months. Older people have been disproportionately affected by a greater severity of disease and mortality, detrimental psychological, cognitive and physical outcomes from necessary social distancing, as well as age discrimination.

Vaccines bring hope – now we need to address the psychological impact of the pandemic

16 February 2021

As we come up to a year since COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and ‘normal’ life as we knew it was halted, BGS President Dr Jennifer Burns reflects on what has happened over the past year.

Reasons to be cheerful about the future of delirium follow-up services?

11 February 2021

Presenting the results of the Covid Collaborative

09 February 2021

The Geriatric Medicine Research Collaborative are very excited to declare that the first results of the “CovidCollab” study have now been published in Age & Ageing.

CRIS Team (Community Rapid Intervention Service Team) - Hospital care delivered at home

08 February 2021

Care closer to home is a familiar term for geriatricians. Emergency attendance and acute hospital admissions have been steadily rising over the last 10 years and this, coupled with a reduction in inpatient beds across acute and community sectors, has led to challenges in managing capacity in many acute Trusts.

Protecting older people from COVID – care homes and hospital-at-home providers needed for important national studies

01 February 2021

The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK has been even more devastating than the first. In care homes, where measures in place to protect residents have improved substantially following lessons learned during wave one, we have continued to see high infection rates related to SARS-CoV-2, and a number of deaths as a consequence.

Depression in older adults: no quick fix

29 January 2021

Hospitalised older adults frequently present as depressed on our wards, but research suggests that healthcare staff often struggle to identify depression, let alone provide suitable care and support.

Q&A for Falls and Syncope Session, BGS Autumn Meeting 2020

25 January 2021

The falls and syncope session at the 2020 BGS Autumn Meeting was a quick-fire session looking at some of the key issues arising in the management of patients who fall: management of hypertension & orthostatic hypotension, carotid sinus syndrome and rehabilitation.

Remote consultations during COVID-19 and beyond

26 February 2021

This resource aims to bring together useful sources of guidance, advice and information on carrying out safe, effective and successful remote consultations in a range of healthcare settings.

Fact sheet

How do I use the Clinical Frailty Scale?

24 February 2021

Frailty identification instruments improve patient outcomes, enhance care and help plan for future needs.

Members only

E-learning

How do I manage delirium in older people with COVID-19?

24 February 2021

Delirium is now recognised as a common symptom of coronavirus, and older people living in long-term care facilities are at higher risk, especially those with dementia.

Members only

E-learning

Scottish Care of Older People (SCoOP) Project

20 January 2021

Scottish Care of Older People (SCoOP) is a Scottish national evaluation project focusing on care of older people across Scotland in both primary and secondary care settings.

Silver Book II: Frailty-friendly building design

This chapter of the Silver Book II looks at the impact of the physical environment and how this can be optimised to help provide safe and effective care.

Silver Book II: References

This page contains the consolidated references cited in the Silver Book II.

Silver Book II: Holistic assessment of older people

This chapter of the Silver Book II covers the assessment of older people in an urgent care situation.

Silver Book II: Training and development

This chapter of the Silver Book II addresses the education, training and workforce considerations of providing urgent care to older adults.