IGS Podcast

In this episode, Edel talks to Professor Sean Kennelly and Breda Comiskey. Professor Kennelly is a ConsultantPhysician in Geriatric & Stroke Medicine in Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) and leader in dementia care and memory services in Ireland. Breda is living with Alzheimher’s Disease and a strong advocate for supports and services forpeople living with this condition. Sean and Breda both feature on the recently released podcast series “Many Faces of Alzheimher’s Disease”. The podcast hosted by journalist Fionnuala McSweeney interviews different members of the multi-disciplinary team of the TUH Institute of Memory & Cognition (TIMC) as well as individuals living with Alzheimher’s Disease. They discuss the TUH podcast series, understanding the condition from both the clinical and personal perspective, stigma, disease modifying therapies, the role of memory services, brain health, risk reduction and lots more. For more information on the discussion points mentioned in this episode:Many Faces of Alzheimer’s Disease Podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxvV9tjKLSM&list=PLesNMSWFzNbRIOpoXuUHU3PLt1ohwx8r7 “How prevalent are modifiable dementia risk factors in Ireland? A 12-year observational study in community-dwelling older adults” – Mc Garvey et al. 2025https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/11/e106032.longAlzheimer’s Society of Ireland https://alzheimer.ie/ Feedback, questions and suggestions are always welcome at ⁠to [email protected]⁠

Categories: 🟢 Mobility | 🔵 What Matters | ⚙️ Systems In this episode, Edel talks to Louise Brent and Pamela Hickey about the Major Trauma Audit and the recent report specifically looking at major trauma in older adults.Louise is the Head of Audit Management at the National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA) and Pamela is the Audit Programme Manager, Trauma and Surgery at the National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA).They discuss the Major Trauma Audit, the profile and outcomes of older adults post–major trauma, the role of prevention and falls awareness, the importance of rehabilitation, and more.For more information on the discussion points mentioned in this episode:Major Trauma Audit information:https://www.noca.ie/audits/major-trauma-audit/Major Trauma Audit Report focused on older adults (2017–2021, published June 2024):https://d7g406zpx7bgk.cloudfront.net/x/cbce911363/major-trauma-audit-report-focused-on-older-adults-2017-2021-final.pdfManagement of Major Trauma in Older Adults – Clinical Guidance Document:https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/acute-hospitals-division/trauma-services/resources/management-of-major-trauma-in-older-adults.pdfNOCA Home Safety Resources:Active at Home:https://a.storyblok.com/f/265949/2126x3307/7bab60da44/ihfd-be-active-at-home-infographic-2021.pngHome Safety:https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/noca-uploads/general/safety_message_3.pnghttps://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/noca-uploads/general/Safety_message_1.pngPost-Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation Service Provision: A National Overview of HSE-Funded Services:https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/cspd/ncps/stroke/resources/post-acute-inpatient-rehab-service-provision-a-national-overview-of-hse-funded-services-full-report.pdfThe Irish Hip Fracture Database (IHFD) 2024 Report launch webinar will take place on 25 November 2025. Register here:https://www.noca.ie/news-events/ihfd-national-report-2024-registration-open/Feedback, questions and suggestions are always welcome at [email protected]

In this special episode, we celebrate the awarding of this year’s IGS Presidential Medal to Professor Rose Galvin, Professor of Physiotherapy and Co-Director of the Ageing Research Centre at the University of Limerick. Professor Galvin joins Edel to reflect on her journey from clinical practice to research leadership, her interest in applied health research in ageing and the impact of her research on health services and policy. She also shares her insights into the importance of mentoring, leadership and her vision for the future of ageing research. For more information on discussion points:Prof Rose Galvin’s research outputs: https://pure.ul.ie/en/persons/rose-galvinIGS ASM 2025 more information: https://www.irishgerontology.com/events/72nd-annual-and-scientific-meeting\TILDA Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6iI7eUvwTiw5DXT6fQhrbg?si=b19a454a52684f73&nd=1&dlsi=a6b4c5a6265044c5TILDA Wave 6 Report: https://tilda.tcd.ie/news-events/2025/2512-Wave6-Key-Findings-Launch/Age Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) more info: https://www.ihi.org/partner/initiatives/age-friendly-health-systems/recognitionAFHS Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Su8iAJlkh7TD5vNDJX3a2?si=007ca509e635494d&nbsp=&nd=1&dlsi=39c8dbe5ef044bf2Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Professor Simon Conroy and Dr. James van Oppen about Geriatric Emergency Medicine (GEM). They discuss their respective career paths to the specialty, changes and opportunities in the area, frailty screening, patient reported outcome measures and much more. To learn more about this topic, don’t miss the Geriatric Emergency Medicine session at this year’s IGS Annual Scientific Meeting in Killarney October 2nd-4th. For more information from discussion points:  •BGS Silver Book II: https://www.bgs.org.uk/resources/resource-series/silver-book-ii •Prof Simon Conroy more information and publications https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/84336-simon-conroy/publications •Dr. James van Oppen more information and publications https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James-Van-Oppen •PROM discussed by James https://jpro.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41687-024-00796-8 •More information on this year’s IGS Annual Scientific Meeting ⁠https://www.irishgerontology.com/events/72nd-annual-and-scientific-meeting⁠Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Professor Cathal McCrory, Dr. Ann Monaghan and Mary O’Shea from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). Each guest discuss their journey to TILDA and the day-to-day aspects of their role. Throughout the discussion the group highlight some of the interesting findings from the dataset and it’s real world impact. They discuss the international landscape of longitudinal studies and TILDA’s designation as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Longitudinal Studies on Ageing and the Life Course. To hear more, don’t miss the TILDA session at this year’s IGS Annual Scientific Meeting in Killarney October 2nd-4th. For more information from discussion points:   More information on the TILDA Data Workshops https://tilda.tcd.ie/data-workshop/Publications & more information https://tilda.tcd.ie/publications/Previous IGS Podcast with Prof Rose Anne Kenny https://open.spotify.com/episode/1KSNr145MVb4MPpiWK5TFP?si=R4ADRlCoSj2jnaVHD2MxCQFor more information on this year’s IGS AnnualScientific Meeting https://www.irishgerontology.com/events/72nd-annual-and-scientific-meetingFeedback, questions, suggestions always welcome [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Professor Ken Rockwood. Professor Rockwood is a geriatrician, a professor of geriatric medicine at Dalhousie University and leads the Frailty and Eldercare Network fo Nova Scotia Health. As an international leader on frailty, he has more than 600 peer-reviewed publications and nine books to his credit. They discuss his career, understanding frailty, frailty assessment tools, hospital acquired deconditioning and lots more. For more information from discussion points: Prof Rockwood’s Publications: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kenneth-Rockwood Clinical Frailty Scale: https://www.dal.ca/sites/gmr/our-tools/clinical-frailty-scale.html Pictorial Fit‑Frail Scale: https://www.dal.ca/sites/gmr/our-tools/pictorial-fit-frail-scale.html#:~:text=The%20PFFS%20evaluates%20a%20person's,levels%2C%20languages%2C%20and%20cultures. Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Seán Moynihan and Dr. Sarah Donnelly about a range of topics including ageing in place, loneliness, ageism and the work of ALONE. Sean is the CEO of ALONE (www.alone.ie) , a national organisation that enables older people to age at home. Dr Sarah Donnelly, previously worked as medical social worker and is now an Associate Professor in Social Work and Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, in UCD. Sarah will present the ALONE Willie Bermingham lecture at this year’s IGS Annual Scientific Meeting. For more information from discussion points: Learn more about Alone www.alone.ie Read Sarah’s research and publication https://people.ucd.ie/sarah.donnelly/about Link to register for the IGS Annual Scientific Meeting https://www.irishgerontology.com/events/igs-71st-annual-and-scientific-meeting Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Dr. Andrea Wershof Schwartz and Dr. Kirstyn James about Age Friendly Health Systems and the 4Ms – Mobility, Mentation, Medication and What Matters. Dr. Schwartz is a geriatrician at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Boston and Associate Director for Clinical Innovation in the New England Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center. Dr. Schwartz is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Kirstyn James, Consultant in Geriatric Medicine, Cork University Hospital and Alumnus of the RCPI Quality Improvement Scholarship and the Harvard Medical School Geriatric Medicine Fellowship. For more information from discussion points:  The Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Age Friendly Health Systems Initiative: https://www.ihi.org/networks/initiatives/age-friendly-health-systems US Veterans Affairs Age Friendly movement:  https://marketplace.va.gov/communities/age-friendly Mobility Assessment: Mobility Assessment in Older Adults- NEJM One Step at a Time: Improving Gait Speed Measurement in a Geriatric Medicine Clinic Medications: Optimizing Medications: An Age-Friendly Approach | Drugs & Aging (springer.com) Age Friendly Education: An interprofessional workshop based on the 4Ms for an age‐friendly health system - JAGS Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Dr. Diarmuid O’Shea. Dr. O’Shea is a consultant Geriatrician in St. Vincent’s Hospital, previous President of the Irish Gerontological Society and the current President of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI). They discuss what drew Dr. O’ Shea’s to geriatric medicine, his career to date, the evolution of the specialty of geriatric medicine and his advice for others starting out in their career. For more information from discussion points: Knowledge and skills framework for healthcare professionals working with older people https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/cspd/ncps/older-people/resources/knowledge-skills-framework-for-hcps-working-with-older-people.pdf National Frailty Education Programme https://tilda.tcd.ie/ppi/frailty-education/ Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Professor John Cooke about gerontological simulation. Professor Cooke is a consultant geriatrician in the University Hospital Waterford, National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP) and South/South West Hospital Group Clinical Director for Education and Training as well as Clinical Professor in University College Cork and Clinical Associate Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland. Professor Cooke will be part of a gerontological simulation education session at this year’s IGS Annual Scientific Meeting. They discuss his career in geriatric medicine and education, gerontological simulation, it’s role in education, research in the area of simulation and practical tips on how to introduce sim in your setting. For more information from discussion points: WICOP Simulation Youtube Channel https://youtube.com/@wicopsim?si=lBbgBrMf9jKzUVsF WICPOP Twitter Account @WICOPSIM The National Simulation Office https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/national-simulation-office To register for the ASM and learn more: https://www.irishgerontology.com/events/igs-71st-annual-and-scientific-meeting Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to the Irish Gerontological Society (IGS)  President Dr. Emer Ahern. Emer is a Consultant Trauma and Orthogeriatrician in Cork University hospital and was appointed National Clinical Advisor Group Lead (NCAGL) for Older Persons in May 2022. They discuss Emer's career and journey to the specialty of geriatric medicine, her experience with the IGS and NCAGL roles, urgent and emergent care plan for older adults, age friendly healthcare design and lots more. For more info from discussion points: - The Irish Gerontological Society https://www.irishgerontology.com/ - The 4Ms Framework– What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility https://www.ihi.org/initiatives/age-friendly-health-systems/resources-and-news -WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing https://www.who.int/initiatives/decade-of-healthy-ageing#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20Decade%20of,communities%20in%20which%20they%20live. Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to fellow physiotherapist Dr. Esther Clift, who is a Consultant Practitioner in Frailty in the NHS. They discuss Esther's career, advanced practice for HSCPs (AHPs), the consultant practitioner role and virtual wards.   They mention documents and resources including: - “Multi-professional consultant-level practice capability and impact framework” Health Education England. https://healtheducationengland.sharepoint.com/sites/APWC/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fsites%2FAPWC%2FShared%20Documents%2FConsultant%2FMulti%2Dprofessional%20consultant%2Dlevel%20practice%20capability%20and%20impact%20framework%2DJune%202023%2Epdf&parent=%2Fsites%2FAPWC%2FShared%20Documents%2FConsultant&p=true&ga=1 -“Multi-professional framework for advanced clinical practice in England” Health Education England. https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/multi-professionalframeworkforadvancedclinicalpracticeinengland.pdf Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Louise Brent. Louise is the Irish Hip Fracture Database and Major Trauma Audit Manager with the National Office of Clinical Audit.  This episode has been released on the same day as the publication of the 10th Hip Fracture Report from the Irish Hip Fracture Database (IHFD). They discuss the journey of the Irish Hip Fracture Database over the last decade, the standards of care and best practice tariff, findings from this year’s report, research in the area and plans for the future. More information on the Irish Hip Fracture Database available at www.noca.ie Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to British Geriatrics Society (BGS) President Professor Adam Gordon. They discuss Adam's career and journey to the specialty of geriatric medicine, his experience with the BGS, intermediate care and social care, the future of care homes and lots more. They mention documents and resources including: - "Intermediate care framework for rehabilitation, reablement and recovery following hospital discharge" https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/PRN00761-intermediate-care-framework-rehabilitation-reablement-recovery-following-hospital-discharge.pdf -"A new community rehabilitation and reablement model" https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/PRN00761ii-a-new-community-rehabilitation-and-reablement-model.pdf -"Ambitions for change: Improving healthcare in care homes" https://www.bgs.org.uk/resources/ambitions-for-change-improving-healthcare-in-care-homes#:~:text=The%20NHS%20across%20the%20UK,professionals%20involved%20in%20care%20delivery. Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Dr.Rosa McNamara. Rosa is a Consultant in Emergency Medicine in St. Vincent’s University Hospital and Chair of the Geriatric Emergency Medicine special interest group of the International Federation of Emergency Medicine. They discuss what drew Rosa to working with older people, the ideal ED, current pathways and services in GEM, educational resources and opportunities for innovation in older persons care. They mention educational resources including The Case.Report Podcast http://www.thecase.report/ Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Dr. Colm Henry, Consultant Geriatrician and Chief Clinical Officer of the HSE. Dr. Henry will be awarded the IGS Presidential Medal at this year's Annual Scientific Meeting on September 28th to 30th (details on www.irishgerontology.com). Dr. Henry discusses what drew him to geriatric medicine, his journey to leadership, the COVID19 pandemic and the ageing population and its impact on Irish healthcare services. Feedback, suggestions and questions welcome to [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Deirdre Lang, the Nursing Rep on the IGS Executive Committee and the Director of Nursing/National Lead for Older Persons Services in Ireland. They discuss Deirdre's career, what drew her to gerontology, ageing well, Get Up Get Dressed Ger Moving, the National Frailty Education Programme and Deirdre's advice for leading and implementing change. Deirdre discusses the recently published National Frailty Education Report, read more here https://www.lenus.ie/handle/10147/635572 Feedback, questions, suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

To mark World Delirium Awareness Day, Edel talks to Dr. Niamh O'Regan, ANP Marie Doyle and Dr. Emily Buckley from University Hospital Waterford. They discuss what is delirium, plans for world delirium awareness day, detecting managing and preventing delirium and lots of useful educational resources. The hashtag for World Delirium Day is #WDAD2023 and follow iDelirium_Aware on the day.  Feedback, questions and suggestions always welcome to [email protected]

In the run up to the IGS Annual Scientific Meeting 2022, Edel talks to Íde O'Shaughnessy. Íde talks about her role on the IGS committee, the HSCP event at the ASM and her research interests including the findings from her recent publication "Effectiveness of acute geriatric unit care on functional decline, clinical and process outcomes among hospitalised older adults with acute medical complaints: a systematic review and meta-analysis" Article Link: https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article/51/4/afac081/6575883?login=false 

In the run up to the IGS Annual Scientific Meeting, Edel talks to Dr. Liz Moloney about the ED Geriatric Medicine Special Interest Group, what to expect from the group's session at the ASM and some helpful learning resources for MDTs working in GEM.  Follow the hashtag #IGS2022 on Twitter to keep up with the event on Nov 3rd and 4th.  Links to resources Liz mentions in the episode: The Case.Report Podcast https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ufA2GFqicIOT5nJhlSZ0G?si=04d6572ebe334346 The Irish Association of Emergency Medicine IAEM https://iaem.ie/  Mater FIT Team Podcast https://soundcloud.com/user-604553057  National Frailty Education E-learning https://www.icpop.org/nationalfrailityeducation#gref 

In the run up to the IGS Annual Scientific Meeting, Edel talks to one of the ASM keynote speakers, Professor Priscilla Harries about her career, interests and what we can expect from her presentation. Follow the hashtag #IGS2022 to keep up with the ASM on Twitter as it happens.  More information on the conference- www.irishgerontology.com  Podcast related queries - [email protected] 

To mark World Alzheimer’s Day, in this episode, Edel McDaid (IGS HSCP Rep) talks to Kate Brennan, Fiona Foley and Mairead Bracken-Scally from the National Dementia Office. Feedback, questions and comments always welcome via [email protected] Links to resources discussed in the podcast: Dementia: Understand Together https://www.understandtogether.ie/ Dementia Pathways website: https://dementiapathways.ie/ National Dementia Office Education and Resource Programmes: http://dementiapathways.ie/permacache/fdd/cf3/354/66ab8fb0598a61c093695382f68dcfbc.pdf Second Irish National Audit of Dementia in acute hospitals (INAD-2) report: https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/publications/irish-national-audit-of-dementia-care-in-acute-hospitals.pdf National Clinical Guideline No. 21 (Appropriate prescribing of psychotropic medication for non-cognitive symptoms in people with dementia): https://healthservice.hse.ie/filelibrary/onmsd/appropriate-prescribing-of-psychotropic-medication-for-non-cognitive-symptoms-in-people-with-dementia.pdf Guidance document on non-pharmacological interventions for non-cognitive symptoms of dementia: https://healthservice.hse.ie/filelibrary/non-cognitive-symptoms-of-dementia-guidance-document.pdf

In this episode, Edel McDaid (IGS HSCP Rep) talks to Professor Rose Anne Kenny, Professor Medical Gerontology Trinity College and St James Hospital, Director MISA, founding PI TILDA Irish longitudinal study on Ageing and of course the President of the IGS. Rose Anne discusses her passion for gerontology, research on ageing and her recent book "Age Proof".  Feedback, questions and comments always welcome via [email protected]

In this episode, Edel talks to Damian McGrath, James O' Hagan & Aoife Dillon about ageing as a member of the LGBT+ community and the importance of providing inclusive healthcare for older people in Ireland.  Information about the services & resources available from LGBT Ireland including the Champions training programme run by James (that Aoife & Damian have both done!) is available at www.lgbt.ie  The Invisible Threads podcast hosted by James (with a guest appearance by Damian in episode 8) is available here https://open.spotify.com/show/23eFeezLub8yp3rYwKO56O?si=655a691ee019425e  Feedback, suggestions & comments welcome to [email protected] 

In this episode, Edel McDaid (IGS HSCP Rep) talks to Dr. Ronan Collins, Consultant Geriatrician in Tallaght University Hospital and Clinical Lead for the Irish National Stroke Programme. They discuss the Irish National Audit of Stroke (INAS) and the recent report released May 2022 as well as updates from the National Stroke Strategy. Link to INAS Report 2021: https://www.noca.ie/documents/inas-organisational-audit-report-2021  Link to National Stroke Strategy: https://iicms.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/stroke-strategy-2020-2025-Final-for-Consultation-Nov-2020.pdf  Feedback, questions and comments welcome to [email protected] 

This episode features a recording from a recent IGS public lecture on "Life After Retirement" by Professor Eamon O'Shea. 

The first episode of the Irish Gerontological Society (IGS) Podcast! Prof Rose Galvin (IGS Vice President) talks to Edel McDaid (HSCP Rep) about the IGS Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) and more specifically gives her advice on preparing an abstract for submission. The ASM will be November 3rd & 4th in Slieve Russel Hotel, Co. Cavan and details about the event and the abstract submission window can be found on www.irishgerontology.com  Get in touch with the Podcast by emailing [email protected]