funding boost by the European Union
The care of older people who are admitted to hospital is the subject of a £540,000 European Union-funded 6-country research project being carried out by a team in the University of Aberdeen’s Department of Medicine for the Elderly.
From an office in Woodend Hospital, the Aberdeen team will coordinate the ACMEplus project which will also involve centres in Sheffield, Birmingham, Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland and Finland.
In previous studies, the Aberdeen researchers, together with colleagues in Birmingham, have found that while many elderly people are admitted to hospital with straightforward medical conditions, a significant number have more complex medical problems and disabilities.
Project leader, Professor Gwyn Seymour explained: “Failure to recognise these complex problems may lead to treatable conditions being overlooked, and to unnecessary loss of independence. It is also important that older people are discharge from hospital at the right time – neither too soon nor too late – and that appropriate services are available for them in the Community.”
Professor Seymour and his colleagues, Dr William Primrose and Dr Paul Findlay, argue that an important way to improve quality of care of older people entering hospital is to compare the experience of different European countries within different medical and social systems. The research project will enlist 3200 patients over a three-year period.
European comparison requires a standardized system for classifying hospital outcomes but no current system is suitable for this purpose. One of the major tasks of the research project will therefore be to produce a tailor-made system for assessing older people in hospital which will be applicable throughout Europe.
The team will be based at Woodend Hospital. Professor Seymour added: “We are very grateful to Grampian University Hospitals Trust for providing a base at Woodend Hospital for this very important project.”
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Christine Cook, Executive Director of Public Relations, Tel: 01224 272014