Diseases of ageing
Diseases of aging pose the greatest challenge to health service delivery. In NSW in 2005, 10% of the population was aged 70 years or older. In the local government areas served by St George Hospital – Hurstville, Kogarah and Rockdale - 11-12% of the population was 70 years or older. In the 20 years from 2005, it is estimated that there will be 50-100% increase in each of the 5 year groups aged 60 years and older: In Hurstville, for example, there will be twice as many men aged 85 years and older.
St George Hospital is second only to Concord Hospital, the old Repatriation Hospital, in the proportion of its in-patients in the older age groups. In the 12 months to April 2008, 19.7% of in-patients were aged 65 – 74 years and 31.1% were aged over 75 years. Another statistic: more than 50% of in-patient care at St George Hospital is required to serve less than 15% of the population.
Frailty of mind and body are the big problems: cognitive impairment, stroke, osteoporosis and fracture, arthritis, impaired mobility, incontinence, inability to remain independent and the need for supportive care. Each of these problems is amplified by other common co-morbidities and the pharmacological burden of their treatment.
The scope of these problems combined with the rapid growth of the aged population sets an enormous and urgent research agenda that must simultaneously focus on prevention, treatment and the logistics of health care delivery and co-ordination.
Focussed Research
- Aged Care and Prevention programs
- Stroke Prevention and Treatment
- Endocrinology & Metabolic Bone Disease
- Physiotherapy and the elderly
St George researchers in the field
- Associate Professor Peter Smerdely
- Dr Louise Allport
- Associate Professor Terry Diamond
