Sushen Bhattacharyya speaks to plenty of elderly people in his role as a geriatrician, who tell him about events few of us have experienced, including the Blitz to the Great North Sea Flood of 1953 which threatened to engulf parts of London. "They have so many anecdotes, stories and insights. I love talking with them.
It is what keeps me still interested in medicine after all this time," he said. Sushen recalls one patient who revealed his father and brother were murdered in front of him by the Nazis during the Second World War. Another memorable tale came from a fighter pilot who fought in the conflict, with Sushen saying: "It turned out he had been a fighter pilot during the Second World War, and he proceeded to give me a one-on-one about aerodynamics.
" One of the most common injuries Dr Bhattacharyya has to treat is a broken femur, an injury regularly suffered by over 65s when they fall. Part of his job is finding out how they fell, continuing: "I often think I am a detective as much as a doctor. "Patients often tell me they can’t remember why they fell and assume they tripped on something.
"If we are clear on why someone has fallen, we can try and put measures in place to reduce the chance of it happening again. "We see nearly 400 patients a year with this type of fracture so it is worth identifying the commonalities and not just blaming the carpet." Twenty years ago, Sushen introduced a holistic approach to treating issues surrounding fracture injuries, with the nation.
