The British Geriatrics Society has published a new report, Optimising the impact of geriatricians. This aims to set out how the role of a geriatrician has evolved and must continue to adapt to help ensure that older people receive the best possible care, where and when they need it.
There are not enough geriatricians in the UK to provide care for the rapidly ageing population. This makes it even more important that specialists are deployed to achieve the most impact in older people’s care. This report explores where within the health and care system geriatricians add most value and how to best use the skills and unique strengths of geriatricians. Making the most of the scarce resource of geriatricians requires systems to move away from implicit or historic patterns of deployment, and towards explicit, evidence‑informed choices about where geriatrician expertise is prioritised. When supported to do so, geriatricians are able not only to improve outcomes for individual patients, but to influence service design, workforce sustainability and system performance in ways that benefit the whole population.
Older people’s medicine is and will remain a multiprofessional endeavour with clinicians from across disciplines playing vital roles in the care of older people with complex health needs. Strengthening multidisciplinary capability across the workforce is therefore essential if specialist geriatrician time is to be focused where it adds the greatest value.
Geriatricians have a vital role to play in the care of older people, in leadership of multiprofessional teams and in systems design. We hope that this report helps to make the case for how the impact of geriatricians can be optimised to the benefit of patients, systems and geriatricians themselves.
Professor Jugdeep Dhesi, President of the BGS, said:
There is no doubt that we all want older people to have equitable access to the best possible healthcare. However, it is clear that the geriatric medicine workforce is a scarce resource and that we need to change the way we work to deliver on this mission. With a shortfall of almost 1300 consultants across the country, we suggest some approaches that may help geriatricians to optimise their impact. Of course, close, collaborative working with the wider multidisciplinary team will be essential. We hope that BGS consultant members find this a helpful resource to support them in advocating for their patients and services, as well as for themselves.
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive at Age UK, said:
Geriatricians are our heroes and should be at the heart of care for older people. We know that older people are the biggest users of NHS services yet are more likely to experience long waits in emergency departments and receive treatment on trolleys in corridors. Too often, after they are admitted and treated, they remain in hospital longer than necessary while waiting for social care support or rehabilitation services to be put in place.
“Geriatricians are specialists in the care of older people, providing a holistic approach that takes account of the complex needs often associated with ageing, including frailty, dementia and multiple long-term conditions. Their expertise helps ensure that older people receive the most appropriate, coordinated and person-centred care.
“The challenge is that there is a significant shortage of geriatricians in our hospitals. That's why this report from the British Geriatrics Society is so important: we need to optimise their impact and highlight not only the vital role that geriatricians play in caring for older people, but also how their expertise can be better utilised to improve outcomes and experiences right across the health and care system.
Read the report here.
