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Referral
Patients with frailty requiring medical care
This clinical referral guideline is for GPs and Allied Healthcare Practitioners who are seeking guidance for a patient with frailty requiring medical care
The British Geriatric Society defines Frailty as “a distinctive health state related to the ageing process in which multiple body systems gradually lose their in-built reserves.”
It is a clinical syndrome characterised by a physiological vulnerability to minor stressor events (e.g.infection, new medication etc) resulting in poor resolution of homeostasis afterwards.
This means that following a minor insult or health challenge, individuals living with frailty are:
More likely to take longer to recover
More likely to lose functional independence
Less likely to return to their previous baseline than their non-frail counterparts.
Around 10% of people aged over 65 years have frailty, rising to between 25-50% of those over 85 years
Living Longer Stronger; pathways to promote healthy ageing in Torbay and South Devon
The risks and benefits of any intervention or treatment will be different in the context of a frail patient - Identifying frailty is key.
Think about frailty in your patients who attend frequently, or present acutely with:
- falls
- sudden change in mobility
- new or worsening delirium
- new or worsening incontinence
- susceptibility to medication side effects
Use the Rockwood frailty score as a quick and easy identification tool. You can use the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) to calculate this quickly when with a patient
Where possible please use the Rockwood Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) to score patient’s frailty and please follow this link to view a quick reference guide on how to effectively use the Rockwood Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS).
For easy use, please use the CFS App, available to download (Free) onto smart phones.
A training and learning module is also available to help with the understanding, assessment and management of Frailty and can be viewed here. You can also view Frailty training information for the Devon Training Hub here.
For urgent advice regarding Healthcare of the elderly/frailty, please telephone 07900 34 34 39
Living Longer Stronger; pathways to promote healthy ageing in Torbay and South Devon
Please see links below including advice and guidance for your relevant locality
Living Longer Stronger; pathways to promote healthy ageing in Torbay and South Devon
Please see links below including advice and guidance for your relevant locality
Living Longer Stronger; pathways to promote healthy ageing in Torbay and South Devon
Pathway Group
This guideline has been signed off on behalf of NHS Devon.
Publication date: February 21
