For he’s a jolly good fellow…

David Shipway is a final year registrar in geriatric medicine working at London’s Charing Cross and St Mary’s Hospitals, Imperial College NHS Trust. He is currently developing a new comprehensive surgical liaison service for patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery.

With population ageing, the number of oldest old undergoing surgery is increasing markedly. For anyone who’s recently been the medical registrar on-call, it will come as no surprise to hear that there is considerable unmet need on the surgical wards of the UK. But the experience of pioneers in this field has proved that reactive post-operative care is not enough: a proactive approach immediately following the decision to operate is needed to improve outcomes for older patients undergoing surgery.