Introduction Older people living with frailty are core users of health and social care. Services attuned to the needs of people with frailty afford better outcomes, help avoid harm and improve the experience for people and those who care for them. Such services can also help with flow and capacity. The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) Team aimed to advance services in order to enhance the quality and provision of care for older people with frailty. Methods As part of the Health Improvement Scotland Focus on Frailty Programme, the GRI Team developed processes for early identification of people
INTRODUCTION: Our QIP was conducted in the Geriatric wards at Royal Gwent Hospital by doctors working in Geriatrics. Delirium, falls, confusion and urinary retention are common reasons for hospital admission in the elderly. Anticholinergic burden (ACB) is the cumulative effect of taking multiple medicines with anticholinergic properties contributing to frequent admissions. The aim of our QIP was to increase doctor’s awareness of ACB and encourage the review and deprescribing of regular medications in elderly patients to decrease ACB. METHODS: ACB was measured on admission and discharge using
Background Evidence shows that CGA based in Frailty units is better for patient care (Fox 2012, Ellis 2011). University Hospital Wishaw (UHW) is the only acute site in NHS Lanarkshire that does not have a frailty assessment unit as part of the admission/receiving pathway. Patients are currently admitted to the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) and seen by either Geriatrician or Medical consultant depending on the time of admission. UHW is working towards a frailty unit but has been limited by space and resource. Instead we have been on a journey of step-wise improvements to establish one. Methods
Background Perioperative management of diabetes is a strong predictor of post-operative outcomes for patients undergoing major elective surgery. The national confidential enquiry into patient outcome and death (NCEPOD) has specific recommendations for diabetes care in the perioperative phase. We aimed to audit current practice in East Sussex Healthcare Trust (ESHT) against these recommendations prior to the introduction of a recognised programme designed to improve the perioperative pathway for patients with diabetes (IP3D). Methods A retrospective audit of 30 patients with diabetes who
Introduction At Epsom and St Helier, a dedicated Frailty service exists during daytime hours, and not weekends, nights or Bank Holidays. During these hours, patients are reviewed primarily by a cohort of “frailty-naïve” medical junior doctors. We aimed to compare the management plans, patient outcomes, rates of discharge, documentation and care delivered by medical junior doctors to that of an established frailty service. Methodology Data on presenting complaint, demographics, degree of frailty, postcode was collected on all patients over the age of 65, presenting to A&E at Epsom and St Helier
INTRODUCTION: Medical students may find practical aspects of the transition to FY1 doctor challenging. In recent years medical curriculums have been updated to address this issue by increasing the emphasis on assistantships and practical learning. We explored how prepared final year medical students felt for managing common scenarios in geriatrics, such as a patient with delirium or inpatient falls. This allowed us to develop a tailored teaching programme to be delivered by junior doctors with relevant practical experience. METHODS: 1) We surveyed assistantship students in geriatrics to
Introduction Orthopaedic surgery is an important treatment for musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. In the NHS, 25% of all surgical interventions are for MSK conditions and account for 16.1% of the total cost of surgery. Complications following joint surgery include venous thromboembolism, infection, stroke, myocardial infarction, falls and delirium. Remote ischaemic conditioning (RIC) is a technique which induces intermittent ischaemia of a limb, through inflating a tourniquet above systolic blood pressure for intervals that avoid physical injury but trigger several intrinsic protective
Introduction Hip fracture is the most common fracture in adults over 60 years, affecting approximately 70,000 people in the UK in 2019. Mortality after hip fracture continues to be high and the cost of hip fracture is estimated at £1.1 billion per year for the NHS. It has been shown that there are key clinical indicators which can improve patient outcomes. These are monitored annually in the UK by the national hip fracture database (NHFD). Methods Our aim was to look at the demographics and clinical codes for patients admitted with hip fracture, codes when they are readmitted and cause of
Hip fractures tend to affect older, frailer people and are associated with high morbidity and mortality. The Best Practice Tariff (B PT) was introduced to recognise gold standard care. Features of the BPT include prompt surgical and orthogeriatric input, with multidisciplinary working throughout. Subsequent service changes have led to the creation of specialist hip fracture wards. However, it is not always possible to admit patients with a fractured neck of femur to a specialist hip fracture ward. We reviewed data for 691 patients admitted with a primary neck of femur fracture to a district
AimsTo reduce the burden of inappropriate CPR with surgical specialties and to improve the conversations we are having with patient’s and their relatives around CPR. Methods Data collection was done one one day in March, June and September 2024 across three surgical wards. Patients were included over the age of 65 and with a Rockwood Clinical frailty score over 5. A retrospective review of whether discussions with patient and/or next of kin was done. Below is the table demographics. Results Following teaching intervention to junior doctors and discussion with geriatric medicine surgical
Introduction: Chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) is defined by presence of peripheral artery disease, rest pain, and/or gangrene or ulceration.1 Management of CLTI often involves a major amputation which has a 30-day in-hospital mortality of 6.6%. Despite improvements in secondary risk management, 5-year mortality remains high.1 Understanding how comorbidity affects amputation survival may help support patient optimisation and shared decision-making. Methods: This audit assessed the outcomes of patients who were reviewed by the POPS team using a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA)
Following COVID and an aging population waiting lists in Swansea Bay for elective procedures along with the rest of the UK had reached an all time high. Many patients have become frailer over time and may no longer be suitable or keen for surgery. There was not an efficient mechanism in place for screening these patients and many were being cancelled on the day or having pre-op assessments close to the time of surgery and found to be unsuitable. As part screening our elective surgical waiting lists for frailty we used a number of mechanisms including a electronically screening questionnaire
Introduction Prompted by observation and directed by The Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC) guidelines, two quality improvement cycles were carried out during 2021-2023 seeking to improve the identification and care of frail patients admitted emergently to the general surgery department at Peterborough City Hospital (PCH), a busy district general hospital with over 40 general surgical beds. Method Two Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles were undertaken. The medical records of patients 65+ years were interrogated for documentation of frailty assessment, evidence of escalation planning and geriatrician
Introduction Surgical intervention may not be appropriate in frail patients with new or recurrent bladder cancer. To ensure that their care is aligned to the principles of ‘Realistic Medicine’, we developed a structured programme of joint management between our Peri-Operative care of Older People undergoing Surgery (POPS), Anaesthetic and Urology teams. This analysis examines our experience. Method Patients listed for surgery and deemed to be frail at initial screening, underwent Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, an anaesthetic review (if indicated) and surgical evaluations. Validated
Introduction: It’s estimated that 52% of elective vascular patients are frail, with predictions by 2030, one-fifth of surgical procedures will involve patients over 75. This project aimed to evaluate current practices around frailty recognition and documentation at the South-East Wales Vascular Network's regional surgical centre. Objectives: Assess the proportion of patients >65 years with documented frailty assessments using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). Assess healthcare workers' understanding of frailty and familiarity with the CFS. Identify barriers to recognising and undertaking
Introduction: The prevalence of older patients with Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is increasing. While surgery can offer benefits, older patients living with frailty undergoing Colorectal Surgery are more at risk of postoperative mortality and complications. The literature suggests comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) pre-operatively enhances shared decision making (SDM), equity of access to surgery, length of stay (LOS) and mortality. Our aim is to evaluate how a joint Geriatrician/Anaesthetic pre-assessment clinic would impact outcomes for elective colorectal surgery in older patients. Method
Introduction: Within our hospital, the Surgical Acute Frailty Team (SAFT) delivers perioperative care to the older emergency surgical population. SAFT focuses on early identification of frailty using the Clinical Frailty Scale and subsequent comprehensive geriatric assessment delivery. The most common referral reason to the team is delirium therefore widespread awareness and timely management is essential. Given the challenging clinical environment, SAFT decided to implement a blended teaching programme to support with delivering frailty education to the surgical multidisciplinary team. The
Introduction The Frailty Network, initiated in November 2023, aims to enhance care for frail patients through multidisciplinary collaboration across acute and community settings. By fostering partnerships with Health and Social Care teams, GPs, district nurses, and third sector organisations, the Network strives to provide realistic and patient-centric improvements in Lanarkshire. The initiative focuses on proactive, personalised, and coordinated support to help frail older adults maintain independence and well-being. Methods The Frailty Network is supporting multiple teams to implement new
Introduction Hospital-at-Home (HaH) is an innovative care model delivering hospital-level care to community patients. A key priority for Bromley HaH has been to streamline strategies, providing integrated, individualised care for patients with heart failure (HF). Our study revealed that our length of stay (LOS) exceeded the 7-day target, and readmission rates surpassed the 0-10% target. Recognising the complexities of managing HF in the community, we evaluated the impact of a new HF bundle to enhance clinician confidence, reduce LOS, and improve outcomes and service capacity. Method An adapted
Introduction: Prevalence of aortic stenosis and comorbidity burden correlates with advancing age. The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) is a widely validated tool that predicts outcomes in a range of conditions and settings. Methods: We analysed 38 eligible patients referred for CT TAVI at our institution between August 21 - December 22 and calculated their CCI score to study its impact on symptoms, procedural complications and mortality at 30-days, 6-months and 1-year post TAVI. Evidence of frailty screening was determined using retrospective case note review. Results: Thirty-eight patients