Dr Shelagh O’Riordan appointed as Professional Adviser to Discharge and Community Services team at NHS England

The BGS is pleased to hear of the appointment by NHS England and NHS Improvement of Dr Shelagh O’Riordan to a new advisory post as a geriatrician, supporting the Ageing Well programme.

Dr Shelagh O'Riordan has been appointed to the role of Professional Advisor to the Discharge and Community Services team at NHS England and NHS Improvement. She is currently a consultant Community Geriatrician in Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust and Clinical Director for Frailty in East Kent. She was a consultant geriatrician in East Kent Hospitals NHS University Trust for fourteen years before moving into the community. Since 2019 she has been the chair of the Community Geriatrics Special Interest Group at the British Geriatrics Society.

During the pandemic she developed a ‘hospital at home’ service, working with the urgent community response teams to allow real alternatives to hospital admission for people at home and in care homes. She will be supporting other areas to develop similar services as well as linking this with locality-based anticipatory care teams. Her knowledge and leadership will support NHSE’s work building on the commitments in the NHS Long Term Plan to support older people to stay well and live independently as long as possible and to provide care closer to home, reducing avoidable hospital admission.  

BGS President, Dr Jenny Burns, said:

‘As the different strands of the Ageing Well programme get underway across  England, we are pleased to hear that one of our BGS senior officers, geriatrician Dr Shelagh O’Riordan, is joining the NHS England team. Dr O’Riordan’s extensive experience will provide frontline insights and leadership to help healthcare professionals in different regions develop and deliver vital community services for older people.’

Dr Shelagh O’Riordan said:

‘I am delighted to join the Discharge and Community Services team within NHS England to support the design and delivery of care for older people which is community-based and increasingly closer to home. Whether older people live independently at home, in care homes or other care settings, they are all entitled to high-quality, person-centred care that meets their clinical needs and takes into account their wishes. The Ageing Well programme has the potential to transform care for older people if we can collectively make it a reality.’