Posters for 2026 Spring Meeting

Introduction Advance Care Planning (ACP) enables patients to express preferences for end-of-life care, supporting dignity and reducing uncertainty for next of kin. In primary care, ACP documentation is often inconsistent, particularly among ethnic minority patients, with barriers including language discordance, cultural beliefs around discussing death, and limited awareness of end-of-life options. This quality improvement project aimed to increase ACP documentation among eligible patients in a diverse general practice in England, whilst assessing equity of uptake by ethnicity. Methods The plan

Introduction Delirium is a common, but frequently under-recognised complication in older adults admitted with acute stroke and is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Data describing the prevalence, clinical profile, and impact of delirium in older adults with acute stroke in Sri Lanka are limited. Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study included 90 adults aged ≥60 years admitted with acute ischaemic stroke (including transient ischaemic attack) or haemorrhagic stroke to Professorial Medical Unit at Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka. Delirium was assessed using the

Background A quality improvement project was undertaken on inpatient wards in the Ageing and Health department of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. The patient group comprised older adults predominantly living with frailty and multimorbidity. Care is delivered by a multidisciplinary team (MDT) including resident doctors, consultants, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists (SALT), dieticians, and discharge coordinators. Introduction Reliable documentation of multidisciplinary meetings (MDMs) contributes to safe, coordinated and patient-centred

Background According to Healthcare Improvement Scotland, all hospitals should have an established frailty assessment area with access to a specialist frailty team within 4 hours of admission (or within 12 hours when out of hours). Timely CGA on admission is linked to improved patient outcomes. Last year at University Hospital Wishaw (UHW), a Rapid Access Frailty team (RAFT) with dedicated frailty beds was introduced over a 10-day period. They found an improvement with length of admission and discharge rates as well as positive feedback from staff. Following this pilot, a new Frailty Assessment

Introduction: One third of cancers are diagnosed in patients over the age of 65 (1), given we have an ageing population this is going to increase. Tools have been developed to identify older patients at risk of increased morbidity when receiving SACT such as Geriatric 8 (G8) and Cancer and Ageing Research Group chemotherapy toxicity tool (CARG-TT). This project aimed to assess the ability of these and other frailty assessment tools to predict 30 day mortality amongst older oncology patients. Method: Morbidity and Mortality data from a regional oncology department was reviewed to identify

Introduction: With an ageing population, more people are living with terminal illness, giving opportunities to identify those with predictable shortened life expectancy. The fast-track pathway was developed to speed up funding of care for people expected to die within 12 weeks. Our aim was to investigate the accuracy of doctors’ prediction of death for patients admitted to hospital and referred to the fast-track pathway. Methods: A prospective audit of hospitalised patients who were referred to the fast-track discharge pathway with an expected death within 12 weeks from the date of discharge

Introduction: The most recent national frailty benchmarking audit showed that many discharge letters from our Frailty Ward did not document a clinical frailty score (CFS), advanced care planning (ACP) or functional status. This project aimed to improve documentation of the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) for patients seen by the Frailty Intervention Team (FIT) in Craigavon Area Hospital. Methods A baseline audit of 20 discharge letters from the FIT team was performed, assessing whether core aspects of the CGA were documented. Aspects of the CGA included were: CFS, ACP, cognitive

Introduction: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) affects around 10% of the Scottish population and is particularly prevalent among older adults. As renal function declines with age, drug clearance decreases, increasing the risk of systemic toxicity. Gabapentin and pregabalin, commonly used for neuropathic pain in older adults, are renally excreted and can accumulate, leading to sedation, confusion, and falls. Appropriate dose adjustment according to creatinine clearance (CrCl) is therefore essential. Despite national guidance from NICE, BNF, and SIGN, dosing errors in renal impairment remain a

Frailty represents a multidimensional geriatric syndrome characterized by decreased physiological reserves and increased vulnerability to stressors, affecting 10-15% of community-dwelling older adults. While frailty involves multiple physiological systems, nutritional factors contribute significantly to its pathophysiology. Aim: This quality improvement project evaluated the effectiveness of a comprehensive, multicomponent nutritional therapy program on frailty status, physical function, and healthcare utilization in community-dwelling older adults with established frailty or pre-frailty

Introduction: Geriatric rehabilitation presents unique challenges with older adults exhibiting complex medical conditions, functional limitations, and nutritional vulnerabilities. Despite evidence linking nutritional status to rehabilitation outcomes, standardized nutritional protocols tailored to the rehabilitative needs of older adults remain underutilized. Malnutrition, sarcopenia, and inadequate protein intake significantly impede functional recovery, yet are frequently overlooked in standard rehabilitation approaches. Aim: This quality improvement project evaluated the effectiveness of a

Introduction: Sarcopenia, the progressive loss of muscle mass and function, is a common complication in cancer patients that can negatively impact treatment outcomes and quality of life. Aim: This quality improvement project aimed to assess the effectiveness of dietitian-led interventions in managing sarcopenia among cancer patients and to establish best practices for nutritional care. Methodology: A six-month prospective study was conducted on 100 cancer patients at various stages of treatment. Patients underwent initial screening for sarcopenia using the SARC-F questionnaire and

Introduction Frailty is a common syndrome characterised by reduced physiological reserve and increased vulnerability to stressors presenting with hallmark features of sarcopenia, fatigue, neurodegeneration and immune dysregulation. This may result in adverse outcomes such as falls, disability and hospitalisation. Although frailty is routinely identified phenotypically, the biological mechanisms underpinning its clinical features are not always integrated into clinical understanding. This poster aims to explore the roles of these pathways in the development of frailty and to illustrate how

This project aimed to educate foundation (FY) doctors regarding post-fall assessments and develop a proforma to enhance documentation, within an acute hospital trust. NICE Quality Standard QS86 for adults aged 65 and over in a care setting states that a fast-track examination (under 30 minutes) should occur for highly vulnerable patients, or those showing signs of serious injury. The National Audit of Inpatient Falls (NAIF) Report 2024 found that 65% of patients who had a fall-related inpatient femoral fracture (IFF) received a fast-track medical review. In our hospital this was only 30%. The

This quality improvement project evaluated the clinical utility of routine vitamin D testing in frail elderly patients admitted to the Acute Surgical Unit. Baseline data demonstrated that the majority of patients had suboptimal vitamin D levels, with significant variability in repeat testing and frequent prescribing errors, particularly confusion between loading and maintenance regimens. Testing rarely altered management, as patients with sufficient levels were typically already on supplementation. In response, an empirical supplementation pathway was developed, removing vitamin D testing from

How can we Improve Multi-factorial Falls Assessments in Patients at Risk using Health Pathways and Other Measures? Background All admitted patients require completion of a multifactorial falls risk assessment (MFRA) within 6 hours; in order to identify at risk patients and implement a care plan to aim to reduce the risk of falling. Hospital Health Pathways have a ‘Falls prevention and risk assessment’ pathway which can be used to perform a multifactorial falls assessment. Objective We planned to evaluate how effectively we perform multifactorial falls assessments on the Older Persons Acute

Introduction: Chronic pain is common and increases with age. It is challenging to treat and opioids are frequently used. However, these come with potentially dangerous side effects. We sought to review the prevalence of these drugs across our Medicine of the Elderly department, our prescribing practice and our communication with primary care regarding them. Method: Between the months of April and May 2025, we reviewed all patient records across the MoE footprint (142 patients) recording presence of opioid, type, whether present on admission, started ourselves, frequency of review, plan and

Introduction Care homes face growing pressures in delivering high-quality, person-centred care. Effective and sustainable training can enable staff to develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence required to provide this care. This rapid review aimed to identify the barriers and facilitators in implementation of training programmes in care home settings. The findings will inform rollout of a training intervention to improve mealtime care for people living with dementia. Method Methods were informed by Cochrane Rapid Reviews Methods Group guidance. A structured literature search was undertaken

Introduction Reduced visual acuity is a frequent contributing factor to admission to an acute hospital for older people yet there is little attention paid to its importance. Vision assessment is meant to be offered to all adults at risk of falling as per Montero-Odasso et al 2022(1). The NHS funds vision assessments in the community for all adults >65 years of age. Aims This project aims to assess current understanding and uptake of vision assessment in the community for patients admitted to a tertiary hospital, and whether targeted information giving can improve uptake of primary care

Introduction: The demand for lower limb amputation is growing due to factors including rising rates of diabetes and vascular disease as well as an ageing population. Sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass and strength associated with ageing, can exacerbate the risk of unfavourable health outcomes and mortality. Consequently, early detection and management of sarcopenia is important in the rehabilitation of older people who have had lower limb amputation. Clinical practice guidelines recommend using grip strength testing to identify probable sarcopenia in high-risk patients during routine care and

Background Demographic change poses global challenges, yet healthcare professionals are often trained within a single, siloed system. Boundary-crossing experiences promote innovative thinking by exposing trainees to different external solutions. We evaluated a shared educational session, now in its second year, for UK and Dutch geriatric/elderly care medicine trainees, aiming to equip future healthcare leaders to meet these challenges. Methods A shared, case-based online teaching session for UK and Dutch trainees included brief talks on their respective healthcare systems, followed by breakout