Geriatric medicine

The department of geriatric medicine at Hereford County Hospital includes the following services.

• Community hospitals: The department supports the management of older in-patients in Ross, Leominster and Bromyard Community Hospitals, with consultant advice and input to ward patient reviews as needed.
  
  
• Falls service: Patients undergo multidisciplinary assessment based on NICE guidelines to identify and treat risk factors for falls. They are then provided with a personalised management plan. 
  
  
• Orthogeriatrics: All frail elderly patients admitted under the orthopaedic surgeons are assessed pre and post operatively to optimise medical conditions. This includes comprehensive medical assessment, falls assessment, rehabilitation and osteoporosis treatment by the multidisciplinary team. 
  
  
• Movement disorder: A weekly, consultant led outpatient clinic (Dr Wales) with specialist nurse input and neurophysiotherapy support.
  
  
• Front door frailty team:  A multi-disciplinary team working in the Emergency Department, providing comprehensive assessment of older people.  The aim of the team is to avoid unnecessary admissions to hospital and enable supported discharges back home with close liaison with the community teams.  

Inpatients 

The bed provision for geriatric medicine is as follows.

Ashgrove Ward: a 24 bedded ward providing holistic management of older people requiring longer inpatient stays in hospital.  The medical staff are supported by a multidisciplinary team which meet on a daily basis.

Garway Ward: a 24 bedded Frailty Assessment Unit allowing comprehensive assessment of frail older people requiring hospital admission.  The medical staff are supported by a multidisciplinary team which meet on a daily basis.

Dinmore Ward: a 24 bedded Orthogeriatric trauma unit.  Patients aged over 60 years of age who have a fractured femur will be admitted directly to this ward and be under the joint care of the Trauma and Orthopaedic department and the Orthogeriatrician.   

Additional information

The department currently consists of five substantive consultants in geriatric medicine.

• Dr Emma Wales
• Dr Rodric Jenkin
• Dr Annalisa Facchini
• Dr Natalie Jenkinson
• Dr Richard Gilpin 

 The department is also supported by long-term locum consultants.