Posters

Introduction Even in “healthy” ageing, the immune system undergoes significant changes, with these immune system aberrations being collectively known as immunosenescence. These changes are complex, occurring both in the innate and the adaptive immune system, though recent focus has been on changes in the adaptive immune system due to increasing availability of highly targeted immunomodulatory drugs coming into clinical use. Managing immunosenescence is important for older adults as these immune changes contribute to their increased susceptibility to infections, poor response to vaccines

Introduction: Hospital inpatients can present as confused for a multitude of reasons, thus learning how to effectively communicate with confused patients is a key skill for medical students. Fourth year is the first clinical year at our medical school. A verbal feedback session with fourth year medical student year representatives identified confidence in communicating with confused patients as a key concern of the cohort. Methods: 40 fourth year medical students were surveyed using an online form. The students rated their confidence in communicating with confused patients on a Likert scale

Introduction. The Royal College of Occupational Therapists (OT) define OT as “supporting individuals to develop, recover, or maintain skills for daily life and personal fulfilment”. At its core there is a focus on meaningful activities and occupation-based practice. However, workforce shortages and referral changes have altered OT roles, leading to a misunderstanding and under-recognition within the Multidisciplinary-Team (MDT). In our trust this led to the need for a referral form to trigger OT involvement in patient care to be introduced in 2024. Method. An initial pilot questionnaire (n-30)

Introduction The risk of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) increases as we age, with 1 in 2 people over the age of 75 having CKD. Previous research in London found 48% of those with CKD stage 3-5 were undiagnosed. The commonest cause of death in patients with CKD is cardiovascular events. This means that timely detection of CKD is important to allow risk-stratification and monitoring of other cardiovascular risk factors, which could help improve mortality of those with CKD. This audit consists of two cycles to see whether those 75 years or older who fit the NICE CKS criteria for CKD are diagnosed

Introduction Lagan Valley Hospital is 80 bedded district general hospital offering acute medical specialty admissions. Over 70% of admissions relate to older adults (> 65 years). Previous focused audits demonstrated high prevalence of delirium and undiagnosed dementia. Chart reviews highlighted variation in completeness and quality of cognitive history taking by all members of the multidisciplinary team. Development of a cognitive history template offers potential to improve patient care. Method Survey of doctors to assess baseline confidence in cognitive history taking, audit of in-patients (

Background: Whilst working within the Older Person Medicine (OPM) department, we noted that there were many frail patients who were not having Advanced Care Plan (ACP) discussions. Our preliminary retrospective data collection showed that 39% of OPM inpatients died within a year of their admission. Patients with a Clinical Frailty Score (CFS) >/=7 or >2 admissions in the last year were at highest risk of this 1-year mortality. Aim: Our quality improvement project aimed to highlight patients in which an ACP discussion may be appropriate and therefore improve the frequency of ACP discussions and

Introduction Improving ageing education for health professionals requires meaningful involvement of those with lived experience. Giving older adults a voice in curriculum design and delivery helps shape education to be inclusive, authentic, and relevant, preparing students for person-centred care. Methods We hosted a community engagement outreach workshop, bringing together multidisciplinary health professions students (n=7: medicine; pharmacy) and educators (n=26), with older members of the public (n=8) and other key stakeholders in older peoples’ care (n=12: care home staff; charity

Introduction: A large amount of data is collected on care home residents to support their daily care. The Data Sharing Partnership (DSP) project linked individual-level data held in care homes with health data, and co-designed dashboards to display back to care homes. This evaluation aimed to gather views and experiences of project participants to understand key processes and learnings to inform the development of an accessible and secure model for the use of individual-level care home data. Methods: Qualitative methods were undertaken through in-depth semi-structured interviews with DSP

Introduction: This study of patients attending East Surrey Hospital’s (ESH) Frailty Same Day Emergency Care (FSDEC) unit was designed to assess the interrelationship between onward destination from FSDEC, including existing location-based virtual wards (VW) offering ongoing care and remote monitoring at home, outpatient clinics and comorbidity. In ESH in October 2024, a 6-space FSDEC was created. Patients are pulled from the ED in the morning, with a small number being referred from GPs and community Urgent and Emergency Care teams. Method: Data were reviewed from February 2025 to April 2025

INTRODUCTION The Surgical Emergency Unit (SEU) at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford assesses a wide range of patients daily, including a significant proportion aged ≥65 years. However, current clerking proformas lack a dedicated section for frailty scales, often resulting in omission. Accurate and consistent documentation of frailty using the Rockwood Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) supports perioperative optimisation and surgical decision-making, designed to avoid age-related bias and discrimination. As per trust policy, all patients aged ≥65 with unplanned admissions should have a CFS recorded

Introduction Standardising data collection and collation in care homes is a policy priority. The DACHA study piloted and tested a care home Minimum Dataset This follow-up study aimed to understand how care homes deploy data to improve care. Methods Interviews with care home staff, residents, relatives and other stakeholders (n= 22) from three care homes, explored data usage. Interview data were synthesised and thematically analysed with findings used to inform worked examples of how data informs care. These exemplars were presented at workshop with commissioners, healthcare providers and

Introduction - Treatment Escalation Planning (TEP) is an essential part of delivering person-centred care and is a key component of Realistic Medicine. A TEP can help to avoid unnecessary interventions, demonstrates respect for patient’s autonomy, and reduces uncertainty for both patients and staff who deliver their care. Our aim was to improve TEP compliance across MOE & Stroke in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to >90% by June 2025. Methods - Data was collected from electronic records (5 patients per ward, per week) for a total of eight months. Data collected included: a) presence of a TEP

Background Resistance exercise is an effective, but often suboptimally delivered therapy for sarcopenia and physical frailty in older people. The Benchmarking Exercise Programme for Older People (BEPOP) is a UK-wide quality improvement initiative that uses benchmarking and feedback to improve the quality of exercise delivery by physiotherapy services. We present results from wave 2 of BEPOP data collection. Methods NHS physiotherapy services across the UK submitted anonymised details for up to 20 consecutive patients referred for sarcopenia or frailty-related reasons. Data included sarcopenia

Introduction; Occupational Therapists (OT) play a vital role in the rehabilitation of older people with hip fractures. However a Sheffield Teaching Hospitals 2024 review showed that OT's were spending a significant amount of time completing discharge related admin, reducing face to face contact and opportunities for rehabilitation. Introduction of the care transfer hub (CTH) to a hip fracture ward in December 2024 was taken as an opportunity to reduce OT discharge administrative duties and re-establish the role of OT's in line with university training, core principles of the profession and job

Background A multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach underpins patient care in a Geriatrics department. Occupational therapy, physiotherapy and discharge teams play a vital role in optimising the patients' functional independence and facilitating safe discharges. Discussions within the MDT often involve use of specialised terms and shorthand to clearly communicate patient progress. As a result, for doctors rotating through the specialty with minimal previous exposure, the MDT discussions can be difficult to follow. Aim To improve the clarity and accessibility of MDT discussions for rotating

Introduction Delirium is a medical emergency characterized by a recent (within hours or days) changing or fluctuating course of confusion. It manifests through altered arousal, inattention, and disordered thinking. Delirium had significant short- and long-term adverse clinical outcomes including extended length of stay, increased inpatient complications, elevated all-cause mortality, and reduced survival rates.(1) In January 2023, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) revised its delirium guidelines, endorsing the 4AT as the preferred assessment tool for detecting

Introduction Increasing numbers of patients live with both frailty and cancer, highlights highlighting the need for onco-geriatric services. Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) of older oncology patients increases QoL and treatment tolerance. Recent guidance from British Geriatrics Society stresses the importance of frailty assessment to identify and optimise frailty related issues, alongside collaborative decision-making with patients. Methods OACOS was created at a District General Hospital in Somerset to identify and medically optimise frail patients in whom the treating oncologist had

Introduction Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) should be considered in all older patients with a cancer diagnosis. Initial frailty screening may highlight those who would benefit most from CGA to optimise their health through radical treatment. The G8 score assesses multiple domains and has been validated in oncology patients: lower scores indicate frailty. In contrast the CFS is not specifically targeted at cancer patients and is often unfamiliar to oncologists. OACOS does not currently utilise the G8 or CFS in its referral criteria; oncologists refer based on concerns for patients

Introduction Falls are a major health concern for older adults. Dual-task (DT) training, which integrates cognitive and physical exercises, has shown greater benefits for balance and mobility than physical training alone. This study evaluated the acceptability of a blended DT training programme, combining supervised and self-directed components, and delivered via a mobile application for older adults with a history of falls. Methods Community-dwelling older adults aged 65+ with ≥2 falls in the past year were recruited. Participants completed the DT programme using the Peak Brain Training app

Introduction Polypharmacy, defined as the use of five or more medications, is common in older adults due to multiple chronic conditions. While often necessary, it is associated with adverse drug reactions, prescribing errors, and preventable hospitalisations. Medication review at admission is essential, particularly in frail patients, to identify inappropriate prescriptions and opportunities for deprescribing. Methods A retrospective audit was conducted on 30 patients aged ≥65 years, admitted to a geriatrics ward for less than one month. Data were collected from electronic health and GP