The healthcare system must be future-proofed to care for an increasingly ageing population

Old age is not a direct cause of lung disease, but it can significantly worsen existing respiratory conditions such as asthma and COPD, and make people more vulnerable to respiratory infections such as COVID-19, influenza and pneumonia, as well as increasing the risk of developing cancer.

At the British Thoracic Society’s Winter Meeting today, Professor Dame Linda Partridge will deliver the BTS Scientific Lecture addressing “The global challenge of ageing”.

Dame Linda’s research work focuses on the mechanisms by which a healthy lifespan can be extended, and her primary interest is in geroprotective drugs, which can prevent the consequences of ageing on the body.

Dame Linda, said:
“With longer lifespans, there is a growing period of frailty and ill health at the end of life; the major burden of ill health is now falling on the older section of the population, and there is an urgent need to keep people healthier for longer before the end of life.

“In recent years there have been huge advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms of ageing. It is clear that it is a malleable process, and can be targeted by both lifestyle interventions and drugs. These discoveries are moving forward to clinical trials in humans.

“I have no doubt that in the next few years we shall see new therapies based on targeting mechanisms of ageing that will combat ill health at the end of life.”

Until research provides us with to reduce the effects of ageing on health, we must make sure our health system is ready for the challenge brought by caring for an older population whose health needs will continue to increase.

As most acute hospital admissions in old age are related to respiratory disease, BTS is urging the NHS to future-proof the respiratory specialty, making sure it has the skills, the staff and the resources it needs to deal with this challenge today and in the coming years.

Professor Jon Bennett, Chair of BTS, believes that the key to build resilience in the system and prevent staffing issues in the future is a long-term workforce planning exercise that focuses on the whole respiratory team, rather than individual professions.

He said: “We need to train more staff to develop a highly skilled respiratory workforce incorporating all our multiprofessional groups, not just consultants.

“We continue to call for 200 more respiratory specialty training numbers to improve the current shortfall in the number of respiratory consultants, but also an uplift in all members of the team, including respiratory nurses, physiologists, pharmacists, Advanced Clinical Practitioners, physiotherapists and other allied health professionals.

"We must make full use of the multiprofessional skills that add such value to respiratory care.”