The Department of Geriatric Medicine at Singapore General Hospital provides specialised geriatric holistic care for elderly patients (aged 65 years and above) in both outpatient and inpatient settings. We specialise in the assessment and management of patients with geriatric syndromes such as cognitive decline, recurrent falls, bladder and bowel issues, as well as frailty.
We care for patients admitted to Ward 63 either under the Department of Geriatric Medicine or Department of Internal Medicine. Patients are managed by a multidisciplinary care team with multidisciplinary meetings to discuss patients with complex care needs. We work closely with our community partners (community hospitals, transitional care teams, community nurses, etc) to facilitate transition of care back into the community.
We provide inpatient consult services to patients with geriatric issues admitted under other disciplines. We also work with the Department of Emergency Medicine to frontload interventions for older adults who have fallen or are at risk for falls.
We have established an Ortho-geriatrics liaison service with the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery to optimise older hip fracture patients for early surgery and monitor for potential peri-operative complications.
Our clinics are located at the Diabetes and Metabolism Centre Levels 3 and 4. Patients referred to our outpatient clinics undergo assessments by our nurse clinicians as well as our doctors, after which a comprehensive holistic plan is drawn up for the individual. We see patients with geriatric syndromes and have close collaborations with our community partners to effectively support our patients in the community.
We are also launching a Falls Intervention Team (FIT) clinic which is a one-stop access to a multidisciplinary care team where data from person-centred assessments can be shared and discussed and integrated care plans formulated to facilitate shared decision-making and goal setting to support self-management and caregivers. Currently, referral to this service is restricted to patients already assessed and referred by a geriatrician.
Our nurse clinicians conduct educational sessions and regular dementia support group meetings for caregivers of patients with dementia.
We form part of the multidisciplinary team at NCCS, providing input and recommendations to primary oncologists on care of their oncological patients who have been screened and had a brief Geriatric Assessment done.
We seek to establish close relationships with our community partners with the aim of empowering them in the care and management of older adults in the community (e.g., Primary care providers, Nursing homes, Active ageing centres, CREST/COMIT teams) as well as supporting them in the care of the older adult through multi-disciplinary team meetings and case discussions.
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