New frailty assessment units open at Shropshire's hospitals

The units are part of improvements being made by The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) for patients needing urgent and emergency care.

They have opened at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford and Royal Shrewsbury, and provide same day care for older patients who are living with frailty. Patients who attend emergency departments or acute medical units are screened by dedicated frailty teams before being transferred to the units for comprehensive assessment and care from a specialist clinical team.

SaTH says the service will be expanded in August with the provision of an advice line whereby GPs and West Midlands Ambulance Service colleagues can speak directly with the trust's frailty team to gain advice and support. The trust says this will "enable patients to be supported in the community or directed to the right place of care first time."

SaTH adds that where appropriate, same day community discharge is arranged to avoid the need for an 'unnecessary hospital admission'. It means that patients who are frail will not have to wait in busy emergency departments for their care, reducing the overall time spent in hospital if they do not need to be admitted.

The new frailty assessment units have treated and discharged 95 patients so far in three weeks of operation.

The trust says: "Data collection so far suggests that we are increasing the number of patients going back to their own homes and less reliant on social care for discharge."

Medical Director, Dr John Jones, said: "We are committed to improving urgent and emergency care so that everyone using these services has the highest quality care and a positive experience.

"We are seeing an increase in the number of patients attending our emergency departments and acute medical units who are frail and so we have invested in opening dedicated new frailty assessment units on both hospital sites.

"Once in the quieter units, patients with frailty are assessed and treated by a multidisciplinary team, led by a specialist consultant.

"It means that some patients can be discharged the same day, avoiding unnecessary hospital stays, and reducing the overall amount of time they spend hospital, which we know is better for their ongoing wellbeing and recovery.

"The feedback that we have had so far has been very positive and we are incredibly grateful to our teams who are working hard to ensure that our more vulnerable patients have the right care in the right place."