THE long lives of 31 patients aged over 95 were celebrated at Grantham House medical practice’s first morning tea in Wembley on Wednesday.
“I am one of the younger ones, but I still feel good because I have all my faculties, and it feels beautiful to be surrounded by so many people in my age bracket,” 101-year-old Menora resident Leon Zeitlin said.
Mr Zeitlin stills swim 30 minutes each day at his retirement home.
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READ NOWThe tea was catered by practice staff and attended by 11 patients aged over 95 from suburbs including Floreat, Kingsley, Hamersley and City Beach.
Staff at the practice cannot pinpoint exactly why they have so many patients in their tenth and 11th decades of life, with the oldest at 108.
“I think it may be that there are a lot of people in that demographic in our area, and our ageing population, who are healthy and supported at home,” Dr Maria Kailis said.
Many of the practice’s doctors also brought older patients when they moved to Wembley from northern suburbs including Wanneroo and Carine several years ago.
The practice is also long-lived, having been established more than 60 years ago by Dr Stanley Savage.
Some current staff have worked at the Essex Street office for up to 32 years.
One of Dr Savage’s first patients was 97-year-old City Beach resident and tea attendee Joyce Forrester, who first brought her two-year-old daughter to see the doctor 64 years ago.
“It’s good just for me just being here today, and with the girls, all with smiles on their faces,” Mrs Forrester said.