Content from the BGS Cardiovascular SIG Webinar - COVID19 which took place on 25 June 2020.
This page brings together resources and information for any clinician or carer who finds themselves faced with providing care at the end of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This section of the BGS guidance on end of life care in older people examines the management of acute deterioration in the context of frailty at the end of life.
This position statement sets out the British Geriatrics Society recommendations for assessment of older patients being considered for emergency laparotomy.
This brief guidance was developed by Alistair Burns, National Clinical Director for Dementia at NHS England/Improvement. It is applicable to those with dementia and anyone with cognitive impairment resulting from conditions which affect the brain.
This consensus advice has been drawn up by experts from the BGS, EDA and RCPsych. It should be used in conjunction with local policy and governance practice employed within your own organisation.
Scottish Quality & Safety Fellows, NHS Scotland, have put together some easy-to-follow tips on stress, coping and resilience during this difficult time which they have kindly allowed us to share.
The BGS Frailty and Urgent Care Meeting 2019 was held on 15 February 2019 in London.
The Royal College of Physicians Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme (FFFAP) has developed a series of patient and public centred resources to support better care.
Alexandra Feast describes a study which highlights how people with dementia experienced pain for a substantial part of their admission without being able to communicate this pain. It explores the relationship between pain, dementia and delirium.
General hospitals are designed to deliver safe, effective and often highly technological care. For people with dementia, however, these unfamiliar clinical environments can be frightening, disorientating and a threat to independence and wellbeing.
The aim of the "Behind Closed Doors" campaign is to raise awareness that people, whatever their age and physical ability, should be able to choose to use the toilet in private in all care settings.
The rate of older people undergoing surgical procedures is increasing faster than the rate of population ageing . Despite this progress, older surgical patients remain at increased risk.
Can it be used by nurses to determine whether staffing levels are safe on their wards?
Geriatrics is the largest specialty doing general medicine and providing acute medical care of patients admitted as emergencies. As general physicians, they share with other specialists in Acute/General Medicine the provision of the first 24-48 hours of emergency medical care of all adults.
An emergency laparotomy is one of the highest risk surgical procedures performed. Every year across the UK more than 24,000 emergency laparotomies are carried out.
Hurrah, the cavalry has appeared over the horizon! Whilst my hospital is well geared up for staff influenza vaccinations (something that I am proud to have been involved in instigating over 25 years ago), the COVID-19 vaccination programme requires a Herculean effort on behalf of the NHS and its staff, adding further strain on our already stretched services.
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.
During the pandemic, it has been my great privilege to contribute to the Scottish Government’s Clinical and Professional Advisory Group on Care Homes (CPAG).
I took early retirement from my post as a consultant stroke physician at the end of 2017 but have continued to work in undergraduate medical education on a part-time basis. I am based in the Education Centre of the Trust where I have worked since 1997, so my return to clinical duties at the height of the pandemic was a temporary redeployment.
COVID-19 has proven to be particularly harmful to older people, who are more likely to experience severe symptoms, and be hospitalised as a consequence. COVID-19 affects multiple organ systems, has been shown to affect physical function, and is associated with prevalent delirium. There is emerging evidence that older people affected with COVID-19 may experience significant disability after the acute phase of their illness has passed.
Major trauma was once perceived as a realm of vehicle accidents or violence affecting young or middle-aged people. The Trauma Audit and Research Network has now shown that the majority of patients attending hospitals with severe injuries are >60 years of age and have fallen from a standing height. Many of these patients have multi-morbidity and are complex to manage.
Busy, noisy, and unfamiliar. Hospitals can be frightening and disorientating for people living with dementia who describe not being sure where they are, why they are there or what is happening around them.
He was sitting on the bed. He had presented to the emergency room with fever and shortness of breath and was labeled a PUI - “Person Under Investigation.” Every time he took a deep breath, I saw his chest wall retract between his ribs.
Earlier this year health and social care organisations across Newcastle upon Tyne (Collaborative Newcastle) were focused on how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this week I wrote about ongoing and sometimes over-polarised debates within British geriatric medicine, BGS membership, and government policy around community versus acute hospital care for older people with frailty who require skilled assessment and treatment.
The month of Ramadan has passed relatively quickly. I have spent some long days at work and at home being rather hungry and thirsty. I have been fasting for around 17hrs a day and am eager now to return to being able to eat and drink during daylight hours.
An interdisciplinary group of clinicians and scientists have carried out a rapid review of the COVID-19 literature in relation to older people, which has just been published in Age and Ageing.
The novel Wuhan coronavirus, COVID-19, has been shown to affect every age group across the world. However, the severity with which it manifests, and the outcomes of the disease, appear to worsen with increasing age of the person infected.
The BGS Autumn Meeting will cover the latest in evidence and best practice in the health and care of older people.
Late on Friday 21 August, the Department of Health and Social Care announced a £588 million fund to support people being discharged from hospital. We encourage BGS members with any questions about how this funding will be implemented to come forward and we will pass these onto NHS England for clarification.
BGS members have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic and have been implementing innovative solutions to enable them to deal with the unprecedented demand for services, which have been summarised and submitted to NHS England ans NHS Improvement.