In this episode, Dr Lucy Pollock reflects on 30+ years in geriatric medicine, emphasising the importance of understanding older patients as individuals with unique life stories. She highlights the societal challenges of ageing, the need for empowerment through information, and the misconceptions surrounding ageing and health. She advocates for honest conversations about ageing, the impact of loneliness, and the role of technology in supporting older adults. She also addresses the complexities of polypharmacy and the pressures faced by healthcare providers. Ultimately, she encourages families and older adults to engage in meaningful discussions about ageing and to prioritise well-being and autonomy.
Introduction
In today’s episode, I have the considerable pleasure of speaking with Dr. Lucy Pollock, a consultant geriatrician with over three decades of experience in the field of ageing and elderly care. Lucy is delightful – she is also renowned for her compassionate approach to medicine, offering fresh perspectives on ageing with optimism, agency, and respect.
She is the author of The Book About Getting Older (early editions had the subtitle “for people who don’t want to talk about it”), but Lucy says that she has removed those words because it has become very clear that people do want to talk about it. She maintains that most of us have a vision of a long life, where our abilities and faculties are all in place, and we’ll live to a great old age. But the reality, she says, might be quite different for most of us. So she asks the question, how do we give those we love, and eventually ourselves, long lives that are as happy and healthy as possible? Her second book, The Golden Rule, was published just a few weeks ago. In this book, she shares real-life stories and lessons learned from her patients. They are both great reads and I’d highly recommend them.
In this interview, we discuss Lucy’s thoughts on ageing well, and we touch on topics such as medication, growing old without family, loneliness and connectedness, misconceptions about ageing and personalised medical care.
I have great pleasure in introducing you to the extraordinary Dr Lucy Pollock. I started by asking her why she became interested in aged care.
