Abstract
Introduction: Frailty is under-recognised in hospital leading to unwarranted variation in care. National guidance recommends that all healthcare professionals can identify frailty and offer interventions to reduce risk factors for frailty. Previously, physiotherapists working in Older People’s Medicine (OPM) did not record frailty status in their clinical assessment. This quality improvement project seeks to translate and implement best practice, supporting physiotherapists to record the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) score within routine patient assessment, so interventions can be initiated to optimise outcomes.
Project aim: Within 3 months, to achieve a 50% increase in the number of patients with a Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) score recorded within their physiotherapy assessment.
Methods: Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles with interventions of bespoke teaching and assessment proforma re-design were employed targeting the OPM physiotherapy team on ward 31, RVI.
Measures: The weekly number of patients with a CFS score recorded within physiotherapy assessment was collected over 13 weeks and evaluated on a run chart. Staff knowledge and skills self-assessment scores and cohort data were also recorded and described using descriptive statistics.
Results: At baseline – 0/114 (0%) physiotherapy patients had a CFS score recorded, this improved to 95/192 (49%), suggestive of effective change post interventions. Staff confidence scores also improved.
Conclusions: This project has led to improved frailty awareness and identification amongst OPM physiotherapy staff. This work supports a collaborative approach to improving frailty care; better identification of frailty can reduce harm by informing healthcare needs, supporting patient flow, and resulting in better, safer, and more equitable care.