BGS launches #ChooseGeriatrics

Today the British Geriatrics Society launches its #ChooseGeriatrics campaign. This campaign aims to ensure that the workforce caring for older people is fully and sustainably resourced, now and into the future.

The population is rapidly ageing, and it is projected that by 2045, there will be almost double the number of people aged over 85 that there are today. People are living longer than ever before, which is cause for celebration. However, it also means that more people are living for longer with multiple long-term conditions and complex health needs.

Now, more than ever, it is crucial that we attract healthcare professionals from across the multidisciplinary team to ensure that older people today and in the future can access the care they need, when and where they need it.

We will showcase the variety of roles within older people’s healthcare and share stories and career journeys from a diverse range of our members. We will highlight the breadth of experiences available to professionals working in this specialty and the rewards they gain. Working in older people’s healthcare is innovative, exciting and challenging, with opportunities in acute hospitals, primary care and community services. Through the campaign, we will also collaborate with relevant stakeholders to ensure that medical training is fit for purpose and that good candidates are able to find a rewarding career within geriatric medicine.

Professor Adam Gordon, President of the British Geriatrics Society, said:

We are delighted to be launching #ChooseGeriatrics today. We know that it is hugely rewarding to work in healthcare for older people. However there are real challenges in recruitment and retention across the multidisciplinary roles that deliver this care. Our campaign seeks to challenge some of the inertia around developing a workforce ready for the care of our ageing population. Much of the current crisis in our NHS is driven by workforce and skills shortages around care for older people. This must be addressed. The BGS campaign #ChooseGeriatrics will find and share solutions, and campaign for policymakers to deliver them."

Dr Amit Arora, BGS Vice President Workforce, said:

The #ChooseGeriatrics campaign will run through much of our work over the next year and will showcase the exciting roles and rewards that exist across older people’s healthcare. There are not enough people with the skills needed to care for our rapidly ageing population and we hope that this campaign will attract aspiring doctors, nurses, therapists, pharmacists and researchers into fulfilling careers in older people’s healthcare. This is both urgent and important. Older people deserve no less."