The holistic perspective

This policy formed part of the last Strategic Plan. Essentially there are three ways forward, encouraging non-medical staff to join the Society, providing a more diverse programme as part of the Society’s scientific meetings and, collaborating on research projects. Whilst good progress has been made, we are still a long way off getting the formula right.

Membership
In the mid-nineties, the Society opened its membership to non-medical staff, starting with scientists and then encompassing allied health professionals. Today, the Society is pleased to have representation from therapists, nurses and even a pharmacist, but hopes that their presence will grow still further.

Interdisciplinary meetings
The Glasgow Spring Scientific Meeting in 1993 initiated the inclusion of the first interdisciplinary component into the BGS programme. The Warwick Spring Meeting in 2000 included an interdisciplinary day run as a parallel option to the main scientific programme, causing grief to many doctors who wanted to attend both. Since 2001 we have added on an interdisciplinary day to the Autumn Scientific Meetings, not always satisfactory as it extends the number of days that doctors are away from their hospitals and surgeries. The Birmingham Spring Meeting in 2005 intends to overcome these problems by having an integrated interdisciplinary programme throughout.

In the past it also proved difficult to get a consensus agreement on what an interdisciplinary programme should encompass (if you want to see a human representation of Vesuvius erupting, ask Margot Gosney - former Meetings Secretary- about this!). Birmingham have allied health professionals on the planning team, thus avoiding any ‘eruptions’, and Doug MacMahon is consulting widely in respect of the United in Care conference referred to below.

Interdisciplinary collaborative group
Pursuant to the Strategic plan 2000-2002, Rebecca Dunn initiated a collaborative group, encompassing the allied health professions, to identify ways to improve interdisciplinary collaboration; this was subsequently developed further by Chandi Vellodi and has now been taken on by Doug MacMahon, assisted by Kevin Kelleher. Its terms of reference, approved by the Executive Committee as it was then, defined the group as being “formed by representatives of professions providing health care for older people.’’ It presently includes the Chartered Physiotherapists, the Occupational Therapists, the RCN, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, the City University London and St Bartholomew School of Nursing and Midwifery, the NE London Workforce Development Confederation, and the Nutritional Advisory Group for Elderly People, and a general practitioner. Other professions/ associations with an interest in caring for older people would be welcome.

United in Care - Conference 2004
The Interdisciplinary Collaborative Group is exploring the scope for interdisciplinary research leading to joint publications, but more immediately it has focused on a free standing interdisciplinary conference – United in Care, in the summer of 2004.

Our allied health colleagues have always been adamant that what they really want is a stand alone conference, not just a programme ‘tacked on’ to another scientific meeting, and the UKMC on behalf of the Society gave approval for Doug MacMahon to take this forward for the summer of 2004.

We will therefore be commissioning the Medical Education Partnership, professional conference organisers, who have run the very successful BGS Parkinson Disease Section’s multidisciplinary conferences. A deciding factor in choosing MEP is that they underwrite the financing of the conference so that there is no financial risk to the Society or its allied health professional partners. However we have had to compromise on the structure of the programme to secure this benefit, in that the programme will have a clinical base to attract commercial sponsorship whilst retaining a strong interdisciplinary focus.

It is planned that the morning of the conference will be a vehicle to celebrate areas of British practice of which we can be proud, and the role of older people health teams in providing these innovations. It will also provide the opportunity to update the multidisciplinary team members on ‘state of the art care’.

We hope to attract a keynote speaker in the middle of the conference, and it is anticipated that the afternoon will provide an opportunity to examine two key issues that concern the whole multidisciplinary team, but from different of perspectives.

The afternoon will close with a rapid fire facilitated discussion between audience and an expert panel. It is hoped that a publication and other activities (as in box) will follow..

We will be circulating details to members in due course. We hope that not only will BGS members support this initiative, but we would also encourage their local colleagues to attend what should be an important step on the route towards achieving a long-held aspiration for our Society.

Jeremy Playfer
Doug MacMahon

The Interdisciplinary Group

The aim/objective of the Group is to facilitate joint working between the professions through the development of a shared approach to improving the delivery of health care for older people. The key areas for collaborative working will revolve around education, research, clinical collaboration and service development/delivery.

The Group is tasked to:

Education:

• Identify shortcomings in professional education and propose methods of improving this
• Develop and implement a programme of annual multi- professional conferences
• Develop a pool of speakers and subjects to support scientific meetings organised by the member societies
• Propose measures to encourage cross-attendance at each others’ meetings

Research:

• Develop and oversee collaborative research and audit projects involving the professions

Clinical:

• Encourage the development of skill mixes, and make representation to the respective accreditation authorities
• Develop multi-professional input into care pathways
• Develop multi-professional clinical guidelines

Service Development/Delivery:

• Co-ordinate projects supporting the implementation of the National Service Framework in England and any future plans of this nature in the UK
• Seek to encourage a co-ordinated UK wide multi-professional approach to healthcare provision
• Co-ordinate projects that will serve to monitor and/or support health authority
  initiatives such as intermediate care
• Encourage multi-disciplinary working amongst professions
• Develop and publish guidelines and recommendations on multi-professional working
• Develop and produce occasional papers on multi-disciplinary

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