IN-DEPTH: XXXXXX


CONCERN W


WHY FRAILTY IS EVERYONE’S


Helping frail, older patients to maintain their independence decreases time spent in hospital and improves quality of life at home. With more than half the Trust’s medical patients aged 70 and over, we need to change the way we care for older people.


hen someone is admitted to hospital, the aim is to bring them back to health so they can be


discharged. But sometimes, even when a patient is effectively ‘better’, their lack of activity in hospital means they’ve lost the ability to do many of the routine activities they could before admission. This syndrome is called deconditioning and particularly


10 /Pulse


affects patients over the age of 65 who are considered at risk of ‘having frailty’. In hospital, deconditioning can occur if patients stop maintaining their usual routine, for example spending hours in bed in their hospital gowns and using incontinence pads rather than going to the toilet.


“People often feel stripped of their identity in hospital and withdraw into the role of being a patient,” said occupational therapist Annabel


Rule, who is working to combat deconditioning across the Trust. “It’s important patients maintain their usual routine as much as possible. This might be as simple as sitting in their chair last thing in the evening, or relatives bringing in clothes from home so they feel more ‘normal’.” Patients who have become deconditioned often spend longer in hospital or end up going to a nursing home instead of returning home. When


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