The cost of growing old (From Basingstoke Gazette)

The cost of growing old

1:19pm Thursday 8th January 2009 in

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COPING with one of the UK’s sharpest rises in elderly patients will soon be a key priority for staff at Basing-stoke hospital.

However, rather than seeing this daunting prospect as a problem, medical director Dr Andrew Bishop is confident that the hospital’s staff are ready to rise to the challenge.

He said: “We are facing an enormous population explosion and that means we have to think carefully about how we deliver our healthcare services.

“This means we are having to tool up for a very big expansion in healthcare services.”

Population forecasts predict the number of over-65s in Basingstoke and Deane will increase by a quarter by 2014.

This is double the national average and health bosses expect a significant rise in age-related conditions such as dementia, strokes, heart attacks and fall injuries.

Dr Bishop said a range of options is being considered, including building a separate facility to deal solely with geriatric care and recruiting more specialist nurses.

But he added that new facilities and staff are only part of the solution. More residential homes and improved support in the community are also needed to help older patients outside hospital. Dr Bishop said: “Health and social care do not always see eye to eye but we need to see more partnership working.

“We need to have a genuine community debate – how do we face the fact that many of us are getting old?”

A major problem is the number of elderly patients languishing in beds, even though they are fit to be discharged. This is expected to get worse in the near future and could lead to bed shortages and an increase in hospital-acquired infections.

Pat Dominey, modern matron at the elderly care unit, said tackling this issue is vital if her ward is to cope with a large increase in patients.

“Hospitals are not the right places for many older people and many just want to go home,” she said.

The modern matron said beefing up care in the community would reduce future strain on services. Introducing monitoring equipment at home and more outpatient services available in GP practices would also help, she added.

As previously reported in The Gazette, bosses at Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust are looking into the possibility of building a new hospital. Mrs Dominey said this would require a larger elderly care ward – as well as more nurses, which could be difficult.

She said: “Traditionally, elderly care is not seen as a glamorous side but it is very rewarding. Many of the patients have complex needs because they have more than one medical condition.”