Great progress is being made to improve care for people in Lanarkshire living with frailty, thanks to the work of our health and social care, and acute teams.
Our Frailty Network has brought staff together to support earlier identification of frailty, more consistent care planning and better outcomes for people at home, in the community and in hospital.
Through the Acute Frailty Group and the Ageing Well and Community Frailty Group, frailty pathways have been developed to help people receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time.
This is thanks to more staff now thinking about frailty earlier, recognising the signs and using shared tools to guide care. This is helping to reduce variation and support more joined-up decision-making between teams.
A key part of this success is the consistent use of the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). Staff are encouraged to use CFS scoring as part of everyday practice, helping frailty to be recognised early meaning people can be directed to the right care and support.
The Frailty Network is also supporting more direct admissions from the community to Acute Frailty Units, where this is right for the person. Earlier frailty identification and CFS scoring are key to making this work well.
Funding has also been secured for new frailty Allied Health Professional and social work assistant posts. These roles will support the Acute Frailty Units’ Home First approach, helping more people return home safely with the right support in place.
Work is also continuing to help prevent frailty progression through targeted polypharmacy reviews, anticipatory care conversations and better access to ageing well initiatives.
Dr Helen McKee, Care of the Elderly Consultant, said: “There has been a huge amount of positive work across the Frailty Network, and that progress is thanks to the commitment, expertise and enthusiasm of staff across our services.
“We now have clear frailty pathways, stronger links between acute and community teams, and better tools to help us identify frailty earlier.
“The next step is making these pathways part of everyday practice by using CFS scoring consistently and completing the up-coming frailty LearnPro module when it’s released.
“This will help us build confidence, speak the same language around frailty, make better person-centred decisions, reduce unnecessary delays and support more people to maintain their independence.”
