Dr Firdaus Hirji Adenwalla announced as winner of the Marjory Warren Lifetime Achievement Award 2024
The British Geriatrics Society (BGS) is delighted to announce that Dr Firdaus Hirji Adenwalla has been awarded the Society’s prestigious Marjory Warren Lifetime Achievement Award for 2024. Named in honour of the founder of modern geriatric medicine, Dr Marjory Warren, the award is presented annually to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the healthcare of older people.
The British Geriatrics Society is delighted to announce that Dr Firdaus Hirji Adenwalla has been awarded the Society’s prestigious Marjory Warren Lifetime Achievement Award for 2024. Named in honour of the founder of modern geriatric medicine, Dr Marjory Warren, the award is presented annually to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the healthcare of older people.
Dr Adenwalla qualified in Mangalore, India in 1989, before moving to Wales in 1998. In 2005 he was working in Neath Port Talbot Hospital at Swansea Bay University Health Board when he collaborated with the lead Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Annette Davies, to establish the Neath Port Talbot Acute Clinical Team. The team’s aim was to move beyond traditional domiciliary care and provide Hospital at Home services for adults, particularly those living with frailty, a service that was one of the first of its kind in the UK. Dr Adenwalla and his team demonstrated that Hospital at Home services were a viable alternative to traditional hospital care. From the outset, the objective of the team was to provide timely, multidisciplinary care in the community. It was also one of the first to work with the ambulance service to accept patients directly from the ‘call stack’. This achievement was recognised by the Bevan Commission as a ‘Bevan Exemplar’. Their work with care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic won the BGS Eva Huggins prize.
At Neath Port Talbot Hospital, Dr Adenwalla collaborated with Afan Nedd Day Unit’s Ward Manager, Lynne Hall, to develop multidisciplinary falls prevention clinics, rapid access assessments and the provision of urgent day-case blood transfusions and other intravenous treatments. The day unit worked closely with the Hospital at Home service to break down existing barriers between primary and secondary care.
Since April 2024, Dr Adenwalla has worked as a Consultant Geriatrician in the recently commissioned ‘Safe at Home Service’ at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Wales. His role is to provide senior clinical cover supporting GPs and advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs), and to provide teaching and training for ACPs and nurses. He also works with management to develop and deliver a comprehensive seven-days-a-week Hospital at Home service.
Dr Adenwalla has contributed to BGS publications about community-based care for older people including ‘Bringing hospital care home: Virtual Wards and Hospital at Home for older people’, “No place like home” RCP report on Virtual wards and Hospital at home and Good practice guide for managing Covid 19 in Care homes. He is on the committee of the UK Hospital at Home Society. He has presented his work at National BGS and Ambulatory emergency care conferences. He brings his wealth of experience and expert insights to such reports, team meetings and education.
Professor Adam Gordon MBE, President of the BGS, said:
Dr Adenwalla is a great example of someone wholly committed to improving care for his older patients. Over many decades, he has innovated and developed services close to home, pioneering the Hospital at Home model. I am delighted we can reward his significant contribution to older people’s healthcare in Wales with this prestigious award, recognising a lifetime of achievement."
Dr Adenwalla said:
This award is indeed a great honour, and I feel humbled that my colleagues find me deserving of this recognition. Over the years I have had the privilege of working with inspirational and committed healthcare professionals across the hospital and community. This award acknowledges their dedication and recognises the importance of Hospital at Home services across the UK."