Working Life: If you like people, you will like geriatric medicine

Professor Ronan Collins, consultant geriatrician and Age Friendly ambassador for South Dublin Co Council

Fri, 27 Jun, 2025 - 01:00

Catherine Shanahan

“My interest in older people started during my medical training, when I was a SHO (senior house officer). I came across all of these older people with fascinating stories.

“One patient had fought in both world wars. Imagine that. Another was a messenger for James Connolly during the 1916 Rising. She told me they used young girls as messengers as they felt the British army wouldn’t shoot them. This woman used to run through the back streets of Dublin, behind the GPO.

“If you like people, I mean really like people, you will like geriatric medicine. When I was younger, I was very taken by Jacques Cousteau and wanted to be a marine biologist. In hindsight, I’m not sure I’d have lasted long.

“Anyone who knows me will be aware of how much I spoke out on behalf of older people during covid. I was subsequently asked to be an Age Friendly ambassador. A starting point for me is the importance of an age-friendly society. You’d imagine it would be a given, but it’s not.

“If you look at it from a tech point of view, there’s a real danger for older people that what should be enabling is becoming isolating. It’s a real bugbear of mine how any software company can get a licence for tech that hasn’t been road-tested on older people.

“My dad, Dermot Collins, is a lifelong GAA fan. Yet when he’s going to matches now, he’s expected to use an electronic ticket wallet. It’s complicated. That’s an example of tech dis-enabling people. It starts a pattern of isolation.

“Hospitals need to up their game, too, when it comes to older people. They should be designed with the most vulnerable in mind, but they are not. Elderly patients are expected to book outpatient appointments using online systems. On wards, the most private conversations can be overheard. It’s appalling. I know our hospitals are in a rush to go paperless, but we need to be sensible about what we want to achieve.

“Monaghan Hospital is doing a good job of trying to make its campus more age-friendly. Physical improvements include parking spaces closer to the entrance, a new access ramp, improved toilet facilities, and universal-design compliant seats.