Biochemical mechanisms driving the clinical features of frailty
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
From Fall to Follow-Up: Improving Post-Fall Assessment Timeliness and Documentation with NICE and NAIF Standards
Treating Vitamin D Deficiency Empirically
How can we Improve Multi-factorial Falls Assessments in Patients at Risk using Health Pathways and Other Measures?
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
Opioids in the frailer adult: Are we prescribing them safely?
Barriers and facilitators in care home training implementation: A rapid review to inform rollout of a mealtime care intervention
ISiTO - Improving Sight Therapy for Older-people - A Quality Improvement Project (QIP) at a Tertiary Hospital
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
Grip strength testing to identify sarcopenia in lower limb amputee outpatients: a quality improvement project.
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
Nurse Scientists’ Success: Implementation of Bed-side Fall Injury Attenuation Solutions
Shared educational sessions between UK and Dutch trainees: can boundary-crossing experiences equip us for demographic change?
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
AnchorWell: Maintaining Health Stability - Proactive Care in Extra-Care Facilities: A Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce Unplanned Healthcare Demand - Pilot
Introduction Urgent community interventions are disproportionately required by residents of independent or extra care living facilities, a small but high-need population. These settings attract individuals seeking more support than available in own homes; Whilst the need initially is often care related this is frequently driven by underlying medical conditions and the ageing process. Unlike nursing or care homes, extra-care living facilities lack enhanced primary care agreements, leaving rising needs unmet. With healthcare shifting from acute to community settings, addressing this gap is
Diagnostic test accuracy of outpatient blood pressure measurement to detect hypertension in older people
Introduction Older people presenting to outpatient (OP) clinics require blood pressure (BP) measurement to consider morbidity contributing to falls and long-term cardiovascular risk. However, BP measurements taken in the outpatient setting (OBPs) may not correlate with BP patterns obtained using ambulatory measurements (ABPMs). ABPM is considered a more accurate method of diagnosing hypertension than OBP in the general population. Using OBPs for clinical decision-making in isolation risks either under or over-diagnosis of hypertension. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic test
Simulation-Based Training to enhance Medical trainees Communication, Ethical reasoning ,and Teamwork in End-of -Life Care
Simulation-Based Training to enhance Medical trainees Communication, Ethical reasoning ,and Teamwork in End-of -Life Care
Creating a delirium-friendly space: improving environmental factors on a Care of the Elderly ward
Sleep Patterns of Hospitalised Older Adults in an Acute Geriatric Unit
Systematic review of disparities in continuous glucose monitoring prescribing in older adults living with diabetes
Introduction Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is transforming diabetes care and its access should not depend on age, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. Updated NICE guidance in 2022 expanded NHS funding to include people with type 2 diabetes mellitus on insulin who meet certain criteria. Emerging evidence indicates that older adults are significantly less likely to be offered CGM. We aimed to systematically review prescribing of CGM in older age groups compared to younger ones. Methods PROSPERO registration: CRD420251104079 Databases: PubMed, Web of Science Inclusion criteria: studies that
Frailty Progression on General Surgical Waiting Lists: Does POPS Intervention Make a Difference?
Improving the consideration of resuscitation status and electronic upload of Do Not Resuscitate forms in an orthogeriatric ward
Establishing a business case for joint geriatrician and neurology assessments in an outpatient Movement Disorders clinic
Introduction: At our Trust a single Parkinson’s Specialist nurse manages a caseload of around 900 outpatients living with Parkinson’s in conjunction with a team of consultant neurologists. It is estimated around 60% of patients living with Parkinson’s will fall each year and patients living with Parkinson’s are known to be at higher risk of osteoporosis and osteopenia. A proportion of these patients will be living with frailty. In order to reduce harm, manage frailty and reduce unplanned hospital admissions we would suggest a more holistic assessment from a geriatrician may be beneficial for a