NDR-Dokumentation über Geriatrie in Huddersfield mit Gudrun Seebass

45-minütige NDR-Dokumentation über Geriatrie, in der auch die Arbeit von Gemeindemitglied Gudrun Seebass in Huddersfield vorkommt.

http://programm.ard.de/TV/ndrfernsehen/45-min/eid_28226574786845 

22:00 Uhr 45 Min Omas Pillen-Falle – Gefährliche Medikamente im Alter | NDR Fernsehen
 

Die Zahl der alten Menschen steigt. Und mit dem Alter auch der Medikamentenkonsum. Doch viele Tabletten helfen nicht immer viel – im Gegenteil: Denn im Alter verändert sich der Stoffwechsel. Tabletten, die 40- oder 50-Jährigen gut helfen, wirken mit 70 plötzlich ganz anders. Meist hat kein Arzt den Überblick über all die verschiedenen Medikamente, die der Patient einnimmt. Denn neben dem Hausarzt schreiben auch Fachärzte den alten Menschen fleißig Rezepte. Das kann schwere Folgen haben.

Artikel in der Krankenhauszeitung

Camera, Lights…. Gudrun! Our geriatrician shows Germany how we care

A documentary team from Germany has been following our Dr Gudrun Seebass earlier this week.  The aim is to highlight the role of the geriatrician in the NHS. In Germany they only work in rehab units. Germany is possibly looking to change its model of care and the TV company contacted the British Geriatric Society (BGS) asking for an opportunity to film the work of a geriatrician in the NHS.

Dr Eileen Burns, president of the BGS and from Leeds, contacted Gudrun who has been with us for 12 years (18 if you count her time as a trainee) asking if her work with teams and patients at Huddersfield could feature.

Gudrun said: „It took me quite some time to summon the confidence to respond to this request. Comms were hugely supportive and after a few delays we finally managed to do the filming at the very last minute – the documentary is due to be cut on Thursday and Friday this week.“

„This was a fascinating experience for me and I certainly did not get any time to be nervous or self-conscious – I was far too occupied doing my work in front of the camera, trying to answer their questions in German (which at one point led to me speaking in German to staff!) and coordinating all the different encounters for the documentary.“

She added she enjoyed reconnecting with healthcare in German. „Having lost all professional contact with medicine in Germany after completing my thesis in Geriatric Rehab in 1997 this was an opportunity to reconnect with my previous life from a new perspective. The other two services for older patients featuring in the documentary are a Geriatric rehab hospital in Hamburg where one of my cousins is a nurse and a community project in North Eastern Germany.“

She thanked CHFT colleagues who helped it happen.

„I am hugely grateful to senior managemenof our trust for allowing us to go ahead despite the winter pressures, to all staff on my acute elderly care ward 15A who rose to the challenge only five weeks after being opened, to the frailty team and A/E, to my junior and middle grade team, to ward 19 and 21, to staff at the Oakmoor rehab unit in Moorland’s Grange, the locum GP who happened to do a session at Oakmoor when we arrived and first and foremost to all the patients and relatives in all these different areas who agreed to help without any notice. Together we managed to convey how Geriatric medicine provides continuity and support across the whole spectrum of the patient’s journey and how working in this environment is fascinating and rewarding.“

All the footage from Huddersfield will be condensed to 15 mins and will be broadcast on German national television in March and will then be available to watch on the NDR mediathek website.

Producer Dörte Petsch, said: „We were very happy that this visit took place and that consultant Gudrun Seebass showed us how medicine for olderly people works in the UK. As we are workingon a documentary for the public northern German broadcaster (like BBC) about Geriatic medicine, we were very interested how it looks like in England. We were very happy that we got such an intense overview from our short visit how it looks like in England.“

„What really impressed me is that there is a connection between the hospital medicine, outpatients and community which doesn´t exist like this in Germany. Also the way all nurses and specialised nurses are working together for the improvement of the patients. What we filmed was very interesting and it will be a very nice contribution for our documentary.“ 

„It was a very nice atmosphere; everyone was so friendly to the patients as well as to us. We really felt welcome: Thank you!“