BGS publishes #ChooseGeriatrics-themed 12 Days of Christmas

To celebrate the festive season, the BGS is marking the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ with a #ChooseGeriatrics-themed twist.

Each day represents an essential aspect of older people’s healthcare and activities from the BGS team across 2024.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas, #ChooseGeriatrics gave to me:

• Twelve CGAs: Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment remains the foundation of personalised care for older people. Several sessions at the BGS Autumn Meeting 2024 focused on its importance and in 2025, the BGS will be launching a range of new CGA resources.
   
• Eleven vaccine appointments: Vaccinations, such as the RSV vaccine which is now offered to those aged 75 and above, remain a key priority in protecting older people. The BGS Age and Ageing journal published a piece on what geriatricians need to know about the RSV vaccine, which reinforces the importance of vaccinations in preventive care.
   
• Ten CPD credits: The BGS provides expert elearning courses to ensure healthcare professionals stay up to date with older people’s healthcare while earning CPD credits. There are online courses available now on the BGS website to support ongoing professional development including frailty, delirium management and oncogeriatrics. Attendees at BGS events including the Spring and Autumn Meeting, plus webinars or in-person sessions on specialty topics including cardiovascular health, nutrition and POPS also gain CPD credits. Find out more and register for our 2025 events now.
   
• Nine home visits: In 2024, the BGS worked with the UK Hospital at Home Society and the Royal College of Physicians London to support the use of the term ‘Hospital at Home’, over ‘virtual wards’. In 2024, Dr. Firdaus Hirji Adenwalla was announced as the winner of the Marjory Warren Lifetime Achievement Award for his development of the Hospital at Home service in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. This pioneering service was one of the first of its kind in the UK.
   
• Eight dietitian referrals: Research published in the BGS Age and Ageing Journal emphasises the vital role of nutrition in healthy ageing and its importance in long-term care. Additional research papers highlighted the benefits of nut consumption and sufficient micronutrient intake to support a nutritious diet for older people.
   
• Seven rehab sessions: The BGS report ‘Reablement, Rehabilitation, Recovery: Everyone’s Business’ highlights how rehabilitation transforms recovery for older patients with frailty following acute illness or chronic health conditions. The BGS’s #ChooseGeriatrics blog series showcased how healthcare professionals like occupational therapists contribute to older people’s healthcare.
   
• Six medication reviews: Pharmacists play a critical role in supporting older people with frailty and complex conditions to manage their medications. The BGS celebrated World Pharmacists Day 2024 on 25 September with blogs focused on balancing complexities for better patient care, optimising medication in care homes and focusing on what matters to the patient in terms of treatment. The BGS Pharmacy Group also assembled a list of helpful resources to guide clinicians on medicines management and deprescribing in older adults. Pharmacists and those interested in better management of polypharmacy in older people are encouraged to join the BGS Pharmacy Professionals Group and the Medicines Optimisation SIG.
   
• Five frailty scores: Identifying frailty in older people is a vital part of planning appropriate care. This year, the BGS President’s Medal was awarded to Professor Kenneth Rockwood in recognition of his significant role in enhancing the understanding of frailty in older people, including creating the Frailty Index. The BGS Age and Ageing journal also published research on frailty screening among older adults in the emergency department to help tailor treatment plans quickly and efficiently.
   
• Four advance care plans: Advance care planning can help guide healthcare professionals about someone’s wishes about care and medical treatment when they may be too unwell or unable to communicate decisions. The BGS supported the Advance Care Plan Day 2024 on 8 May and shared a range of blogs about planning for later in life, including ‘talking about dying’ and the importance of advance care planning in the care of people with frailty.
   
• Three falls risk assessments: Identifying and assessing the risk of falls in older people is an important part of a person-centred approach to healthcare. In 2024, the BGS marked Falls Awareness Week in September and the BGS Age and Ageing journal featured research on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on falls and fractures. The BGS supports the National Hip Fracture database led by the Royal College of Physicians, aimed at improving the experience of people who experience a hip fracture.
   
• Two research papers: The BGS Age and Ageing journal remains a leading international clinical geriatric medicine journal, publishing high-quality research into biomedical, social and psychological aspects of ageing. This year, the Dhole-Eddleston prize for the most deserving medical research relating to the needs of older people published in Age and Ageing was awarded to Normative values for grip strength, gait speed, timed up and go, single leg balance, and chair rise derived from the Canadian longitudinal study on ageing.
   
• And a multidisciplinary team!: Collaboration across disciplines is a recurring theme in BGS blogs and reports and the involvement of a multidisciplinary team is key to improving older people’s healthcare. Bringing different skills and competencies to deliver joined-up, person-centred care helps to address the complex needs often associated with ageing. A recent case study published on the BGS blog highlights the importance of an MDT approach to supporting older people with frailty.

As we wrap up this festive celebration of the ‘12 Days of Christmas’, it’s important to reflect on the remarkable strides made in older people’s healthcare throughout 2024, despite the challenges facing the NHS. The BGS is looking ahead to another year of progress and continuing to support better healthcare for older people in 2025.

Happy holidays from all of us at the British Geriatrics Society!