These collated resources provide information about what frailty is and how it can be diagnosed and managed.
- Frailty in older people – Andrew Clegg, The Lancet (2013)
In this seminal paper, Professor Andrew Clegg provides an useful introduction to frailty which includes its definitions and pathophysiology, as well an overview of the frailty models and evidence for interventions.
- Comprehensive geriatric assessment for older adults admitted to hospital - Cochrane Library (2017)
Systematic review of 29 trials evaluating evidence for comprehensive geriatric assessment in older patients admitted to hospital.
- Fit for Frailty: Part 1 - BGS
Guidance is intended to support all levels of health and social care professionals who may encounter older people living with frailty in the community, in outpatient clinics, in community hospitals and other intermediate care settings and in older people’s own homes.
- Toolkit for comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in primary care settings - BGS
Toolkit providing an overview of comprehensive geriatric assessment and how it may be effectively implemented specifically in the primary care setting.
- Frailty at the front door – Zoe Wyrko, RCP Clinical Medicine (2015)
Provides a useful introduction to frailty within the acute hospital setting.
- Themed review on frailty in hospitals - NIHR
Aimed at supporting the assessment, identification, management and discharge planning for staff involved in the care of older people living with frailty within a hospital setting.
- Acute care toolkit 3: Acute medical care for frail older people - RCP
Toolkit recommending procedures for both initial assessment on admission and later comprehensive geriatric assessment for older patients living with frailty attending hospital.
- Epidemiology of Sarcopenia and Frailty. Chapter in Frailty and Sarcopenia - Onset, Development and Clinical Challenges. Patel H, Clift E, Lewis L and Cooper C. DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.69771
Sarcopenia is a key contributor to physical frailty. This book chapter provides an overview of both of sarcopenia and frailty, as well as the role of comprehensive geriatric assessment in their management.
- Frailty: Language and perceptions - BritainThinks on behalf of BGS and Age UK
This report, originally published in June 2015, summarises research commissioned by BGS and Age UK on older people's attitudes and feelings towards language around frailty.
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The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement brought together an Older Persons Working group to develop multiple global outcome measures in older persons. This will allow healthcare systems to improve their care pathways and quality of care.
Useful tools
- Clinical Frailty Scale App - NHS Elect & Acute Frailty Network (Apple/Android)
NHS Elect has launched the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) app, a free application that frontline colleagues can download for use on mobile devices, to undertake clinical frailty scoring in real time, with people aged 65 years and over. It uses the The Rockwood Clinical Frailty Scale and works by responding with a simple Yes or No to a series of nine questions, starting at the most severely frail end of the scale. The response to the question identifies the level of frailty and provides a recommendation about how to approach that person’s care and treatment. The app is free to download from the Apple Store here, and for Android devices here.
Patient information
- Example Patient information Leaflet on Frailty
This patient information leaflet was created by Dorset Healthcare Trust and provides an example of explaining frailty to the general public.
