Abstract
Background
The increased operative risk for older adults remains a growing concern in neurosurgery. One method of managing this is the addition of embedded geriatric liaison teams for proactive management of older and frail patients in surgical settings.
This study aims to evaluate the attitudes of healthcare professionals towards the Medicine of the Elderly Liaison to Neurosurgery Team at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and to investigate the impact that the team has made since its inception in February 2021.
Methods
17 staff members were interviewed: medical and surgical doctors as well as allied health professionals at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences. The short interview used open-ended questions to examine the scope, effectiveness, and limitations of the team. The interviews were transcribed, and content analysis was used to find relevant themes.
Results
Almost all staff found the service useful. They emphasised that the MoELT communicated excellently with the families of patients and described improved confidence managing frailty with the team on the ward. The identified issues were related to occasional communication problems between the MoELT and the neurosurgical teams, and some misunderstandings of the remit of the MoELT itself. While these problems were raised, the interviewed staff indicated that they would welcome education, signposting, and a streamlined referral process to address this.
Conclusions
The management of patients with complex care needs requires multi-disciplinary input. Therefore, the adoption of embedded geriatric teams is the logical next step for the holistic and integrated care for the frail patient.