Lord Amulree was an outstanding advocate of geriatric medicine in the United Kingdom. His interest in the subject started while he was working for the Ministry of Health and blossomed with his clinical appointment to the new geriatric unit at St Pancras Hospital in London. Here he established a thriving department, expounded his general and specific philosophies on the subject in numerous publications, and trained many junior members of staff who, in their turn, became advocates of the speciality. He used his position in the House of Lords to promote the cause of older persons. He is best remembered for his maxim of Adding Life to Years not Years to Life.
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References
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Ministry bans Lord Amulree. The Daily Telegraph, 10 February 1950
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MackenzieSholtoHonThe. Reports on Public Health and Medical Subjects: Cancer: An Inquiry into the Extent to Which Patients Receive Treatment. Report 89. London: HMSO, 1939. He spoke on the subject of cancer even after he had left the Ministry. Lord Amulree. Cancer Education in Great Britain. Acta Unio Internationalis Contra Cancrum1951;7(special number 2):181–2
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GodberGeorgeSirGeriatrics as a Speciality.London: The British Library: National Sound Archive, 1991. In a letter to The Times of 9 December 1949, Amulree acknowledged he was ‘no more than her willing and humble disciple’. Treatment of Aged Sick. The Times, 9 December 1949
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In 1946, after the Presentation to the end of that year, articles by Amulree and Warren, and editorials appeared in The British Medical Journal and The Lancet. In 1947 Amulree, Drs Brooke, Cosin, Howell and Sturdee published articles; the BMA Committee made its first report and the Annual Report of the Ministry of Health mentioned the work of Amulree and Sturdee. In 1948 Amulree, Brooke, Cosin, Howell, Sturdee and Warren published articles, and editorials were published in The Lancet. Dr Sheldon published his book on The Social Medicine of Old Age, and the first Annual Report of the NCCOP appeared. In 1949 Drs Andrews, Boucher, Brooke, Exton-Smith, Howell, Lowe, McEwan, Warren and Wilson published articles and letters, and many editorials appeared in The Lancet and The British Medical Journal, and Professor Thomson gave the Lumleian lecture at the Royal College of Physicians
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AmulreeLord. Care of the elderly. Lancet1946;ii:801–2
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Ibid.: P. 802
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Amulree (op. cit. ref. 9): P. 801
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Editorial.The employment of elderly people. Lancet1949;ii:469–70. This was written by Amulree
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The phrase ‘Adding Life to Years’ has long been associated with Amulree. AmulreeLord. Adding Life to Years.London: The National Council of Social Service (Incorporated), 1951; Lord Amulree. Exton-Smith AN, Crockett GS. Proper use of the hospital in the treatment of the aged sick. Lancet1951;i:123–6
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AmulreeLord. Adding life to years. Ibid.: P. 39
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AmulreeLord. Geriatrics. Medicine Illustrated1953;7:315–17. Dr Richard Asher wrote a forthright article highlighting the many complications that could result from bed rest. AsherRAJ. The dangers of going to bed. British Medical Journal1947;2:967–87
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