Dementia is a sub-set of Frailty targets for general hospitals and must be taken into account.
*NHS England describes frailty as a loss of resilience that means people don't bounce back quickly after a physical or mental illness, an accident or other stressful event.
For extra information, evidence and best practice please scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Regional offerings
Dementia Wellbeing Plan for Greater Manchester; Dementia United
Weblink: https://dementia-united.org.uk/dementia-wellbeing-plan/
Evidence
NICE, Improving care and support for people with frailty How NICE resources can support local priorities: "People with frailty are at risk of falls. They're also at risk of developing conditions such as anxiety and depression, and are more likely to have unplanned hospital admissions. Identifying people with frailty and improving their care and support are therefore priorities for the health and care system."
Royal College of Psychiatrists, Frailty, Ensuring the best outcomes for frail older people: "The prevalence of frailty in clinical settings reaches 60% for older people attending acute wards. To assess and manage frailty requires an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses functional, psychological and medical input and includes long-term planning within our complex and changing healthcare systems. "
Best Practice Resources
NHS RightCare: Frailty Toolkit Optimising a frailty system: This NHS RightCare system toolkit will support systems to understand the priorities in frailty care and key actions to take. It provides a way to assess and benchmark current systems to find opportunities for improvement. It is produced with reference to an expert group of stakeholders and is supported by NICE. Wider consultation has taken place with patient representatives, clinicians, social care organisations, professional bodies and other key stakeholders.
SDEC_guide_frailty: Looking for frailty must become an embedded part of the acute assessment of people aged over 65 Preventing ward moves AND Environmental adaptations should include:
- non-glare lighting
- access to visual and hearing aids and large print signage and information
- non-slip flooring and handrails, wherever possible
- a calm environment with reduced background noise
- staff trained and geriatric medicine champions appointed to promote gold standard care
- Maintained/improved scores during stay AND identify the potential for medication-related harm, which is several fold more likely in patients with frailty.