What we do

The BGS promotes excellence in the healthcare of older people. We believe that care should be patient-centred, multidisciplinary, and that health, social and community care should be an integrated, seamless service.

Older people are the main users of health and social care services and their high morbidity rates, different patterns of disease presentation, slower response to treatment and requirements for social support, call for special medical skills. Geriatricians provide high quality clinical care for older people as part of a multidisciplinary team during acute illness, chronic illness, rehabilitation and at the end of life, in both hospital and community settings. 

The challenges of frailty, complex co-morbidity, different patterns of disease presentation, slower response to treatment and requirements for social support call for special medical skills

Presentations of illness in old age are often non-specific:  Geriatricians focus on falls, immobility, incontinence and confusion as well as adverse drug reactions.  We see a broad range of illnesses, particularly stroke, heart disease, infections, diabetes, delirium, and the dementias.  Some Geriatricians deal with the whole range of Geriatric problems, particularly those who spend some time working in the community.  Others specialise in such areas as Orthopaedic Geriatrics, Stroke, Falls and Syncope, Cerebral ageing, Parkinsonism

At its core, Geriatrics requires comprehensive assessment of ill and disabled old people.  This involves close inter-disciplinary working with nurses, therapists, pharmacists, dieticians, social workers and many other health professionals. We work closely with GPs, Old Age Psychiatrists and many hospital clinical specialists to ensure that old people receive the highest possible levels of care.