Evaluation of urogynaecology care of an elderly population in a specialist urogynaecology centre

Abstract

The ageing population of the UK means that demand for urogynaecology services is expected to increase substantially, particularly in patients aged over 65 years. To assess service provision and predict future needs, we reviewed the demographic profile and service requirements of elderly patients referred to our urogynaecology service. We performed a retrospective review of case notes of 125 patients over 65 years of age who attended our urogynaecology clinic within a 6 month period, including comorbidity scoring using a validated instrument. A substantial proportion (56%) of patients did not require hospital-based management, and none of the patients had an adult comorbidity evaluation (ACE-27) score >2. Hence, we recommend assessing patients using the ACE-27 score and not on chronological age alone. A restructuring of urogynaecology services towards better access to community-based clinics is required to reflect the treatment needs of the patient population. This would be in line with national continence care guidance.

Keywords::

• Ageing
• comorbidities
• continence
• prolapse
• service provision

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

No funding was obtained for this study. AP and CEA have no conflict of interest to declare. RMK and MCS have been paid travel expenses and MCS holds position of consultant for Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, Astellas and Ipsen.