Posters

Introduction Despite the UK’s increasing life expectancy, and increase in the elderly population, there is an overwhelming lack of Geriatricians in the UK; as of 2022, there is only 1 consultant Geriatrician per 8,031 individuals over the age of 65 (BGS, 2023). To meet the complex care needs of this population, there must be a focus on increasing the interest that doctors have towards Geriatric Medicine, with the overall aim being to recruit more doctors into the speciality. Method The aim of this review was to investigate what factors medical students perceive as barriers to pursuing a career

Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) at St James’ Hospital, Leeds provides urgent care at the interface between primary and secondary care, offering comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) to those living with frailty, aiming to prevent hospitalisation and delay frailty progression. Advance care planning (ACP) is a vital component of prioritising care preferences including at end-of-life, but timing often falls short in practice. This quality improvement (QI) initiative aims to proactively open ACP discussions, allowing patients to consider their care goals, ensuring our care is aligned with their

Introduction: Many elderly patients admitted to hospital have presented following a fall. Causes for falls are often complex and multifactorial, but causes such as postural hypotension and cardiac arrhythmias are easily diagnosed with lying and standing blood pressure (LSBP) and ECG respectively. Therefore these investigations should be offered as a minimum to any elderly patient after a fall. We aim to review and improve the number of patients receiving LSBP and ECG after presenting to the Acute Frailty Unit (AFU) with a fall. Methods: Falls admissions were reviewed over two four-week periods

Introduction: Assessment of lying and standing blood pressure is commonly undertaken in geriatric medicine to make a diagnosis of orthostatic or postural hypotension. We carried out the audit to review the clinical practice and assess its adherence to the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) guidance on how to accurately measure the lying and standing blood pressure (Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme). Method: It was a prospective audit. The first audit cycle was conducted in July 2020 and the second cycle in April 2021 Results: During the first data collection, the practice was

Background: Nutrition is one of the cornerstones of healthy aging. As we age there are many changes in our bodies, including decreased appetite and poor dentition, that contribute to increasing malnutrition. The MUST (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool) score is a quick and effective tool to assess this. Aim: In this project, we aimed to review MUST score and food chart completion on the frailty wards at EDGH to attempt to improve the nutrition of elderly patients. Methods: The charts of 75 patients were reviewed over a period of one month. Following this, a training program for all the

Background End-of-life (EOL) care aims to anticipate, prevent and treat symptoms experienced by the dying patient. An EOL care strategy described by King’s Health Partners (KHP) outlines the ‘ICARE’ framework, created from the five priorities for the dying patient, giving generalist hospital teams a memorable prompt to consider holistic needs of patients. We aim to reconcile performance of Acute Medical Unit (AMU) in providing EOL care, against KHP's framework, to reduce patient suffering and improve care. Methods A prospective review was performed of all AMU deaths from March-September 2021

Introduction The Mental Capacity Act is designed to protect patients who may lack the mental capacity to make decisions about treatment. At the Nuffield Orthopedic Centre (NOC) in Oxford, nurses obtain a baseline AMTS during the pre-operative assessment clinic. Following on from this, any patient over 64 years old that is seen by the orthogeriatrics team will have a post-op AMTS done to assess for cognitive impairment. If the AMTS is less than 8, or the patient is clinically believed to be delirious, then an MCA form will be completed for the decision to accept treatment. The aim of this QI

Improving the assessment and management of blood pressure in older populations Introduction Managing blood pressure in patients above 65 years old remains controversial with limited evidence in relation to balancing cardiovascular benefit and risks of postural hypotension. National guidelines highlight appropriate medications and contraindicated drugs. An initial audit identified a large proportion of elderly Wigan borough residents being on inappropriate medication alongside poor compliance in assessing and managing abnormal blood pressure. This quality improvement project aims to increase

“I would imagine it needed a review…” A qualitative study exploring the experiences of people with dementia and their informal carers of long-term condition reviews in primary care Introduction Multimorbidity is common for people with dementia (PWD) and is associated with increased healthcare utilisation and poorer outcomes. Part of the management of long-term conditions (LTCs) occurs through annual LTC reviews conducted in primary care. Little is known about the experiences or needs of people with dementia and informal carers in regard to LTC reviews. Aim To explore the experiences of PWD and

Introduction: The incidence of fragility fractures is rising with increased life expectancies. Most hip fractures require surgery. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a preventable clinical syndrome that raises the risk of mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of AKI in hip fracture patients. Methods: Data relevant to reported risk factors for developing AKI were collected before and after surgery within hip fracture patients in 2020. This included serum blood tests, anthropometric data, surgical factors and length of inpatient hospital stay. Results: A total of 190

Introduction: Care home residents often have multiple long-term conditions and experience polypharmacy. Deprescribing is the reduction or stopping of prescription medicines that may no longer be providing benefit. Previous research has found that deprescribing is generally safe but it is unknown how to make it work well in practice, like care homes. Methods: Using the findings from the NIHR-funded STOPPING project, which aimed to support the development of better deprescribing practice approaches within care homes, considering different views and environments, recommendations for designing a

Introduction CompreHensive geriAtRician-led MEdication Review (CHARMER) is a behaviour change intervention to support geriatricians and pharmacists to proactively deprescribe inappropriate medicines with older adults in hospital. The intervention comprises: formulating a deprescribing action plan, workshops, benchmarking reports and weekly briefings between geriatricians and pharmacists. We assessed feasibility and acceptability of the CHARMER intervention and study processes. Method A two-arm purposive allocation feasibility study was undertaken in four hospitals (three intervention, one

Introduction Reduction in outpatient appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic and patient concern surrounding risk of contracting COVID-19 by attending day-case settings, resulted in delayed or cancelled medical treatments including Zoledronic Acid infusions as management for Osteoporosis. This, alongside recent research concluding that these treatments can be given safely as early as 1-2 weeks post-fracture, lead to the adaptation of protocol at Hull University Teaching Hospitals Trust in 2021, to provide rapid loading of Cholecalciferol over 6 days, prior to administration of Zoledronic

Introduction: The number one reason for older people to be taken to hospital emergency departments is a fall 1. An “Ambulance Improvement Programme Pillar” 2 is trying to reduce conveyance to hospital for falls, however it is not understood how the attending clinician’s confidence impacts decision-making. Objectives: 1. Assess recruitment rate. 2. Assess feasibility of online survey delivery. 3. Determine the experiences and confidence of frontline emergency clinicians in attending older adults who have fallen. Method: Online cross-sectional survey, undertaken in one English ambulance service

Introduction: Around 10% of calls received by English ambulance services are for older adults who have fallen 1; with an ageing population there are significant care provision needs. Decision-making on the treatment for people who fall, can impact their future physical and mental health. Previous research in decision-making of ambulance staff found perception of role, confidence, service demands and training to be key drivers 2. The previous work highlighting drivers, but not the experiences that explain why they occur, leads this study aim to determine the experiences and confidence of

Introduction: In-hospital CPR has survival rates of 15-20%[ BMA. Decisions on CPR, 3 rdedition, 2016], further reduced with frailty and multimorbidity. Successful CPR is associated with significant morbidity and prolonged suffering. Do not attempt resuscitation (DNACPR) is an advanced medical decision, aimed at preventing harm where CPR is considered futile.[ GMC Guidance.p128-145] Aims: To reduce the burden of inappropriate CPR within surgical specialties using the following standards: DNACPR status reviewed on admission, and all decisions implemented within 24hours of clerking. DNACPR

Background: An estimated 10% >65-year-olds and 25-50% >85-year-olds live with frailty in the UK, 1 making up a greater proportion of surgical caseloads. Perioperatively, frailty is an independent risk factor for adverse outcomes. 2,1 Timely recognition and assessment is vital in prevention, however, awareness of frailty and the Clinical Frailty Scale 3 (CFS) is limited amongst clinicians. 4 Methods: A survey was completed by doctors of all grades across surgical specialties in Sandwell General Hospital. Questions explored recognition of frailty, use of CFS, and their influence in perioperative

Background Understanding human factors involved in patient care is a focus of the Geriatric Medicine Training curriculum including the leadership of and communication within an interprofessional team. Geriatric Medicine Specialty Trainees (ST4+) need advanced communication skills and confidence in managing complex situations. Simulation-enhanced Interprofessional Education (Sim-IPE) provides insight into other disciplines roles. We hypothesised that the implementation of a Sim-IPE programme dedicated to communication skills could improve confidence. Method We organised a one-day Sim-IPE

Aim: Several patient selection scores have been developed to identify patients suitable for SDEC from triage in Emergency Departments (ED) and the acute medical intake. Scores are designed to improve system efficiency, overcrowding and patient experience. Studies have been conducted that compare these; none in frail older adults. This study compared the Glasgow Admission Prediction Score (GAPS), Sydney Triage to Admission Risk Tool (START) and the Ambulatory Score (Amb). Methods: The Older Person’s Assessment service (OPAS) is ED based, accepting patients with frailty syndromes aged >70 years

Introduction: Frailty is a condition that makes it increasingly difficult for individuals to recover from adverse health events and gradually erodes independence. NHS interventions in England have focused on those with more severe frailty. We tested HomeHealth, a home-based, tailored, multi-domain (six-session) behaviour change intervention to promote independence in the over-65s living with mild frailty, in a RCT recruiting 388 people (intervention 195; control 193). HomeHealth was delivered by the voluntary sector in three diverse areas and addressed mobility, nutrition, socialising, and