SCA practice case · Video consultation
“Confused grandmother — video from her home”
Video consultation
Older adult patient
Someone else speaking
Typical
Older adultsHealth disadvantage & vulnerabilities
The candidate brief
This is what you would read in the 3-minute window before the patient connects. Read it once, note two or three hypotheses and one thing you must not miss, then stop.
Patient
Edith Saunders · 84 years · female
Setting
Video consultation — daughter connects the call from her mother's flat; both on screen.
Past history
- Hypertension
- Osteoarthritis
- Mild memory impairment — last documented 18 months ago
Medication
- Amlodipine 5 mg OD
- Co-codamol 30/500 QDS PRN — started 4 weeks ago (locum, knee flare)
Allergies
Penicillin — rash
Recent notes
⚠ Daughter (June, primary carer) phoned today: "Mum's been confused, more forgetful and not eating for two weeks. She left the cooker on. Please can someone come."
Reason for contact
Urgent video consultation — daughter connects the call from the flat.
Practise this case
The full case is in the Hot Seat with the Gold plan. You get a 12-minute timer, a role-player script with facts released only when asked, examiner checkpoints by the three RCGP domains, a model consultation and the guidance behind it.
What this case tests
Show the learning points (spoiler: read after you have practised)
A fortnight of new confusion in an older adult is delirium until proven otherwise — the screen is UTI, drugs (opiates), dehydration, infection, electrolytes. The hidden examiner agenda here is the carer: spotting June's burden and offering her something IS the consultation's Relating-to-Others mark.
The guidance behind it
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