Medicine for the elderly (geriatric medicine)

Medicine for the elderly (geriatric medicine)

Authors: Sanjay Suman

BMJ Careers 26 Feb 2005

Medicine for the elderly is the largest general medical subspecialty in the United Kingdom. As Sanjay Suman explains, it deals with a wide range of clinical, preventive, remedial, and social aspects of illness in older people

Currently, 930 consultants and 466 specialist registrars are working in medicine for the elderly (MFE) in the United Kingdom. There has been a recent drive to improve standards of care, rooting out ageism from the NHS following the publication of the national service framework for the elderly in 2001. The healthcare needs of the elderly are being taken more seriously and greater resources are available to provide both community and hospital based services.

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