Five minutes with Dr Zoe Wyrko

To coincide with the announcement of Riverstone’s well-being specialist group – a body created to help us achieve our goal of helping residents live well for longer – we sat down with intergenerational specialist and Well-being Director Dr Zoe Wyrko, to get her take on healthy ageing and the importance of inclusive communities.

What attracted you to a career in medicine?

That’s a great question, because I honestly never seriously considered doing anything else! My mum recalls me saying I wanted to be a doctor as a small child, with absolutely no idea where this came from – we didn’t have any doctors in the family, I’d only been to a hospital once, and I didn’t really watch television. It’s turned out to suit me well as a career because it brings together science, problem solving and people – all things that I find very interesting. It’s also very versatile, so once you’ve achieved one ambition, it’s possible to look around and ask, “what do I want to do next?”

How has your career developed so far?

I moved to Birmingham for medical school and stayed in the city for the next 25 years! I qualified as a doctor in 2000 and then started work as a Consultant Geriatrician in January 2010. I discovered that I have a talent for setting up services that work across the health and social care system, eventually becoming the clinical lead for the integration of those services across Birmingham and Solihull, impacting on over a million people.
I also have an interest in healthcare policy for older people and have held several Trustee roles within the British Geriatrics Society. I also speak publicly to share work and expertise with colleagues and have taken part in two award winning television series.
I’m delighted to be bringing this learning to Riverstone and see this as a real opportunity to make a difference to residents’ lives. In the clinical world, you have focused 1:1 time but little ability to influence the environment and wider determinants of health, and this is what drives me now. There are lots of ways to support healthier lifestyles and I am interested to see what can be achieved with the backing of a company like Riverstone, which shares my goals.

What are the benefits of community living across a range of demographics?

I find it’s almost easier to talk about the disadvantages of not living as a community, because that’s the way that many of us live now. However, one of the small positives that has come out of 2020 is the realisation that knowing the people who live around us is important.
If we only see people who are just like us it’s easy to forget that there is a whole other world out there, with the mental and physical stimulation that this can bring. Our society is inherently ageist – although great old age is celebrated, at the same time.
The older generations shouldn’t be hidden away, living into deep old age is something that is hopefully going to happen to all of us. It is important for everyone to be able to see the evidence that it is possible to deal with long term conditions and still live well, or even age without developing significant problems. Breaking down barriers between age-groups leads to a better sense of community.

How can we actively encourage intergenerational activities?

One of the key things that we did in the TV show ‘Old People’s Home for 4-Year-Olds’ was to break the cycle of ageism by stopping the children from developing negative impressions of older people early on. Both children and their parents learnt from the process, as well as the TV crew and the children of older adults – everyone was involved. What we ended up with was five generations, all learning together and building support. We found that this approach works amongst all different types of people, regardless of their backgrounds.
The focus should be on creating communities where people live, work and socialise together. At a granular level, this means making it easy to see each other and opportunities for simple little interactions. Walking should be prioritised over car journeys, as well as many other opportunities as possible for longer interactions and relationship building.

What are the main health benefits of an active lifestyle?

There are physical and mental health benefits to be derived from all sorts of activities, whether that be solitary hobbies or more group-based endeavours. This could be anything from joining a choir, working or spending time with friends.
I recommend being as physically active as possible but without stigmatising those who are less able. The important thing is to do as much as you can, and the benefit of doing this is that should you become ill, you may be able to recover better.
It’s easy to overlook mental and social well-being on the path to healing. But things like loneliness have been proven to have health implications. Being lonely, for example, can have a similar effect on the cardiovascular system to smoking.

How can the community support healthy ageing?

It is all about the best possible places to live and spend time. Autism-friendly environments are an example of a places that are as calm as possible, with a focus on light and space. These spaces are also nice for many others, such as people with dementia or anxious about getting out and about.
This universal approach should apply to property and community planning. Another small example – longer timing on pedestrian crossings – which benefits people with children and those with mobility problems alike.
This kind of thinking and decision-making shows that measures are not just for older people who are often seen as the ‘other’ in society but can benefit everyone.

What did you learn most from the TV programmes you’ve been involved in?

I learnt a huge amount. Probably most of note is that taking part almost gave me permission to go back to seeing older adults as people and friends again, rather than just as patients. As doctors we are trained to do things in certain ways, and that includes building professional relationships with our patients, particularly those we may look after over a longer period. However, this change in mindset has seen me re-evaluate what is important to me – and so much of it is about caring as a whole, rather than just the doctoring! There are parallels with my early days of work when I was a care assistant in a nursing home, and it’s certainly a key stepping-stone in my decision to work at Riverstone.