Fit for frailty

Not all older people are frail and frailty is not an inevitable part of ageing. But around 10 per cent of people aged over 65 years have frailty, rising to between a quarter and a half of those aged over 85, and they are at risk of adverse outcomes such as dramatic changes in their physical and mental wellbeing after even minor events. There is a risk of significant harm to them if health interventions are planned without recognising their frailty.

The British Geriatrics Society believes that all those working with older people should be aware of, and assess for, frailty. With this in mind we have developed guidance on the recognition and management of older patients with frailty in community and outpatient settings. Called 'Fit for Frailty', it has been produced in association with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and Age UK. The purpose of these guides is to advise about action which can be taken to prevent these adverse outcomes and help people live as well as possible with frailty

As well as the Introduction to frailty and guides on how you can recognise, and manage and treat frailty in a variety of settings (below), you can download the summary leaflet 'Fit for Frailty' or the full guide.

The fourth guide in this series deals with commissioning services for people living with frailty in community settings, and is accompanied by the downloadable guide 'Fit for Frailty Part 2'.

Download a PDF containing all the content in this series.