BGS Newsletter

Last week, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill had its final scheduled debate in the House of Lords. It needed to complete all stages of the parliamentary process before the end of the 2024-2026 parliamentary session to become law. With the current session ending this week, time has run out and it will fall. The BGS has a position opposed to assisted dying, and therefore, we are pleased that it has not been legalised.

Ahead of a final vote by the Scottish Parliament expected to take place in March, the BGS has written to Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) outlining our significant concerns with the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill. The bill does not contain adequate safeguards to protect older people, the biggest group to be impacted, nor does it protect healthcare professionals who do not wish to participate in the assisted dying process.

The BGS is pleased that the National Audit Office has produced a report on primary and community healthcare for people living with frailty, and we welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the process. Sadly, the report makes for disheartening, although perhaps unsurprising, reading. Older people living with frailty are being let down by our health and social care systems.

We thank the British Society for Heart Failure (BSH) for their comments on the recently published Pragmatic prescribing to reduce harm for older people with moderate to severe frailty endorsed by the British Geriatrics Society.1 We would like to take this opportunity to clarify several potential misconceptions. Firstly, this guidance is specifically aimed at older people with moderate or severe frailty. This is an important distinction.

This document aims to support prescribing decisions for older people with moderate to severe frailty. This information can be incorporated into shared decision-making conversations. It provides more lenient therapeutic targets than standard guidelines, balancing potential benefits and harms of medicines in this population. The guidance is designed for all prescribers involved in medicines optimisation across primary and secondary care settings.

In this three part video series, Dr Chris Miller and Dr Dan Harman discuss the practical challenges and issues faced when developing a community frailty model, addressing the questions that less developed systems might wish to ask of those who have been through the process.

Flexible attendance options & registration fees for 2026: In person or online There is no difference in registration fees for in person and online meeting attendance. The registration fee provides access to the conference or online platform for the days you are registered. On demand viewing post event will be limited to the days for which you have registered and paid. There is a flexible transfer from in person to online attendance as clinical service and life balance require.

Identifying local services Are there local charities that will provide support to keep homes warm, help with shopping upon discharge from hospital, and support older people who can’t get out if it’s icy? Age UK, British Red Cross and RVS are good places to start. Which local charities provide services to help with loneliness or offer exercise classes? Where can older people find advice about home energy use and benefit entitlements? What do the local authority or other services provide over winter?

The BGS is dismayed by the lack of consideration for older people within the TIA Bill, especially as this is the population group most likely to be affected. We have argued throughout the process of this Bill being debated that its drafting fails to acknowledge the reality that the majority of people who come to the end of life each year are older people with multiple conditions. They require a holistic person-centred assessment of needs, and expertise of those specialising in geriatric medicine.

In 2024, the BGS published a new position statement outlining our opposition to the legalisation of assisted dying. Whilst the BGS was disappointed we were not included in the expert witness list, we welcomed the opportunity to provide written evidence to the public bill committee.