Consultant awarded College Medal for outstanding contribution to care of older people
A University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) consultant has been awarded a medal from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) for her outstanding contribution to the care of older people.
Rachael Morris, who has been based at Weston General Hospital since 2015, has been recognised as making an “outstanding contribution” to the college, promoting best practice for the care of older people and those with frailty in the Emergency Department.
Alongside her work with the Trust, through which Dr Morris established Weston’s Geriatric Emergency Medicine Service (GEMS), she also has roles with NHS at Home and is the Chair of the Older Person in Emergency Care committee for RCEM.
Dr Morris said: “Receiving the notification of the award from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine was a huge, unexpected surprise.”
One of five people being recognised by the RCEM, Dr Morris and her family attended a ceremony in Birmingham last month where she received the prestigious award. Her husband and their two children Sophie (10) and Alexander (8) were there to support her and cheer her on.
Dr Morris said: “It was such a great day, and the children got to have the day off school to attend. It was very special.”
Originally training in emergency medicine, Dr Morris had always had an interest in caring for older people too. Ten years ago, after returning to work after maternity leave, she said it felt like the right time to combine both of her interests.
She approached Weston General Hospital, then under the Weston Area Health Trust, and asked about setting up a Geriatric Emergency Care Service (GEMS). The team grew steadily and was awarded an NHS Parliamentary Award for Urgent and Emergency Care in 2019.
The introduction of GEMS has been an opportunity to provide more all-round care for people over-75 who come to hospital needing urgent care. Often, they have ongoing concerns which also need addressing before they can leave hospital.
Dr Morris said: “Older people living with frailty are a vulnerable group with complex needs and we’re privileged to care for them.
“They often arrive at hospital frightened and worried – not necessarily about their health but over things like leaving loved ones at home.
“Wetheir needs, conduct a full gold-standard, comprehensive geriatric assessment and decide ‘what next’ together – admitting into hospital if needed.
“The patient is always at the heart of what we do. We want them to be in control of their health. Alongside the patient and relatives, we plan to maximise as good a quality of life as possible.
“If patients struggle to communicate, we’ll phone family and carers to discover their wishes before they arrived in the Emergency Department. We talk to carers to see how they are coping. If they need support, we refer them to appropriate team.”
Since championing this more specialised care for older people Dr Morris has gone on to present the work being done at Weston at national conferences and is supporting the NHS@Home scheme several days.
Dr Morris added: “Caring for older people has changed in so many ways in the past 10 years, we’re more focused on listening to the patient and there are more options such as NHS@Home to bring the hospital to the patient in their own home.
“But we’re still making lots more changes for the better, this is only the beginning.”
Dr Rebecca Maxwell, Chief Medical Officer for University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Congratulations Rachael on this wonderful achievement.
“We are committed to making a difference that matters to our patients, and that is exactly what Rachael has been doing with her innovative work for older people in need of emergency care. We are so proud Rachael is now able to share her knowledge, not just with our own colleagues but more widely too, and that she has been recognised by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.”