The British Geriatrics Society (BGS) has published evidence-based guidance to support healthcare professionals in implementing proactive care for older people with frailty.
Proactive care (previously known as anticipatory care) is one of the three strands of the Ageing Well Programme, as set out in the NHS Long Term Plan in 2019.
In December 2023, NHS England published Proactive care: providing care and support for people living at home with moderate or severe frailty to support systems to implement proactive care locally. Extensive work went into producing this guidance from stakeholders across the health and social care sectors.
However, the final guidance published by NHS England was edited significantly, with much of the supporting evidence removed to create a succinct document. BGS is now publishing the detailed evidence base supporting this guidance, with the approval of NHS England.
Be proactive: Evidence supporting proactive care for older people with frailty is intended to help healthcare teams across the UK to develop their own proactive care services, working with the voluntary sector and with social care providers. It will assist them in making the business case for early intervention to commissioners. The content is relevant to the whole of the UK, although this is based on an NHS England document.
Many BGS members across the country are already implementing proactive care services which help to delay the progression of frailty. These services are identifying and addressing older people’s needs at an earlier stage, improving outcomes for the individual and reducing hospital admissions.
We hope that this document will help more people to make the case for proactive care services locally.
Professor Jugdeep Dhesi, BGS President Elect , said:
Proactive care has been shown to improve experiences and outcomes for older people, enabling them to remain independent for longer and reducing their use of unplanned NHS care. The evidence supporting proactive care is strong and we hope that by publishing this, more people will be empowered to make the case for establishing proactive care services in their area."
