We have identified details of 122 geriatricians as potential interviewees. Of these we have been able to contact 82 potential informants of whom over forty agreed to participate in the research. So far thirty interviews have been completed with a further thirteen interviews in the process of being set up.
The informants are all male, we have contacted several female geriatricians but unfortunately none has responded. We are looking at ways of increasing female representing in our sampling
With the exception of one Associate Specialist the informants are all consultants with varying degrees of seniority. We are currently exploring ways of including more junior doctors and particularly Associate Specialists in our future sampling.
As was expected the majority of informants trained in India, however we have covered all the major countries in the region with the exception of Nepal.
The informants have centred around particular geographical locations with the majority being in the North West (North West and Mersey deaneries) and Wales.
Our sampling strategy of targeting retired and prominent geriatricians has led to informants predominantly being in their sixties or older.
However the majority of informants continue to work for the NHS, with a significant number on the verge of retirement or working on after 65.
We would like to thank to all those who have participated or agreed to participate. If you would like to comment on your experiences please log into our discussion group http://www.open.ac.uk/forums/hsc-sag/index.php