Jean Bishop ICC featured on BBC's Panorama
19 January, 2023
The programme focussed on how the team at the Jean Bishop centre and those at Oxford University Hospitals are working to prevent hospital admissions for people living with frailty. It highlighted the fantastic clinical model at the centre, where patients come in for a full 'MOT' that looks at every aspect of their life and health to see where things can be changed to help them live happily and independently.
In the UK, there are nearly 3 million people who can be described as frail - that's about 4% of the population - and research suggests they require about 40% of all hospital beds and GP resources.Doctors, paramedics, and any health or care service in the area can refer someone to the Jean Bishop centre.
Drs Anna Folwell and Dan Harman were part of the team that set up the Jean Bishop centre. Both are consultant community geriatricians, specialising in the care of older people.
Twelve thousand patients have come through the centre's doors in the four years since it opened. They have needed fewer GP and hospital visits, but the biggest impact has been among some of the frailest patients.
"For those patients deemed to be frequent flyers - three or more emergency department attendances in the last six months - we reduce those attendances by over 50%," says Dr Harman.
"That's not by chance."
