The British Geriatrics Society is delighted to announce that, following a vote by a record number of members, Dr Jugdeep Dhesi will be its new President Elect. Dr Dhesi will take up the role from 11 November, supporting the next BGS President, Professor Adam Gordon. She will become BGS President in November 2024 for a period of two years.
Dr Dhesi has been a consultant geriatrician and general physician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital Trust since 2005. She has made an outstanding contribution to the development of healthcare for older people, developing a model of peri-operative care that has had significant national and international influence. Her pioneering work has enhanced health outcomes and reduced mortality for older people undergoing surgery and provided solid evidence for the health and cost benefits of investing in pre- and post-operative care. The wider impact on health systems and multi-disciplinary collaboration is substantial.
Dr Dhesi served for three years as the BGS Vice President Clinical Quality, until February 2022. Her leadership in that role, ability to connect research to practice and strategic overview have helped to increase understanding of frailty and multi-morbidity among practitioners and decision-makers. She had previously founded and chaired the BGS Special Interest Group for peri-operative care. She is a Senior Editor for the BGS’s journal, Age and Ageing, and has an academic appointment at King’s College London with an announcement due shortly of her new role as Professor.
Dr Dhesi is the first woman of ethnic minority heritage to be President of the Society and is widely-respected in her field as mentor and role model. She has held senior roles including as President of the Age Anaesthesia Association and Co-Director of the Centre for Perioperative Care. She has also received a variety of prestigious awards including being named by the Health Services Journal as one of the top 50 health innovators in 2014.
President of the BGS, Dr Jennifer Burns, commented:
I am thrilled that Dr Jugdeep Dhesi will be the next President Elect of the BGS and its president after Professor Adam Gordon. Jugdeep is a highly respected geriatrician and has led notable innovations in perioperative care for older people undergoing surgery, which are now being implemented nationally and internationally. I know she will use her considerable clinical, research and advocacy skills to advance the care of older people and the specialty. More than 1,100 BGS members took part in the voting, electing her from a strong field. We are grateful to all four candidates who put themselves forward, for the commitment they show to our mission of improving healthcare for older people.”
Dr Jugdeep Dhesi commented:
It is a great honour to be elected by the multidisciplinary membership of the BGS to take on this important leadership role at such a challenging time for older people’s healthcare. I am proud to be working with Professor Adam Gordon over the next two years and in due course to taking on the role as President. Over the coming four years, I look forward to supporting the wide BGS membership in delivering quality care for older people across all sectors of the health service.”
