Six steps to better care for older people in acute hospitals from GIRFT
26 July, 2023
This guidance should support hospital-wide structures to improve care and reduce hospital acquired dependency for those living with frailty.
Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT), in partnership with the British Geriatrics Society (BGS), has produced new guidance outlining six steps acute hospitals should take to improve care for older people living with frailty. This guidance is designed to accompany the GIRFT Hospital Acute Care Frailty Pathway and should support hospital-wide structures to improve care and reduce hospital acquired dependency for those living with frailty.
The six steps outlined are:
- Assess for frailty: Systematically identify frailty in all settings using the Clinical Frailty Scale.
- Prevent complications: Prevent, identify and effectively manage delirium and reduce hospital acquired deconditioning.
- Home First: Start discharge planning for older people with frailty and/or dementia as soon as possible after admission using a Home First principle.
- Surgical Liaison: Provide evidence-based surgical specialty liaison that improves individual and service-level outcomes for older people.
- Rehabilitation: Ensure there is effective recuperative rehabilitation for older people on all wards in hospital and linked community services.
- Primary and Community Care: Develop effective primary and community care services that support older people to remain in or return to their usual residence.
Access the full report here.
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