Skip to main content
Future Healthcare Journal logoLink to Future Healthcare Journal
. 2022 Jul;9(Suppl 2):51. doi: 10.7861/fhj.9-2-s51

Ageing and frailty in the UK

Jay Acharya A
PMCID: PMC9601054  PMID: 36310985

In an ever-ageing UK population, frailty is a growing concern. This multidimensional geriatric syndrome is associated with deconditioning and, as such, worsening patient outcomes, and is an increasing burden on the healthcare system.

It is predicted that the prevalence of multi-morbid frail individuals will increase exponentially with a 17% increase in this patient cohort by 2035, of which 67% will suffer from cognitive impairment / dementia.1 With life expectancy expected to increase to 85.7 years for men and 87.7 years for women by 2030, the importance of recognising frailty cannot be understated.2

One such widely used validated tool is the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). This scale, which when published in 2005, originally scored from 1 (very fit) to 7 (severely frail) was modified in 2007 to reflect a terminally ill stage and now comprises of nine points.3 The advantage of CFS scoring is the ability to predict patient outcomes in an acute setting and utilise geriatric specialty input.

In an audit undertaken at a local hospital in Surrey in November 2021 (Fig 1) of patients who were referred to the acute frailty team in the emergency department, it was noted that 79% of patients had a CFS score taken after 2 hours. Various studies have shown that the increasing level of frailty and the delay in identifying this, leads to longer length of stays with a mean 12.6 days of those who are severely frail (CFS >7) compared with a mean of 4.1 days of the non-frail cohort (CFS <4).4 With higher readmission rates of 31.2% of the severely frail compared with 19% in the non-frail cohort, early identification and importance of comprehensive geriatric assessments (CGA) can prevent complications with more effective and prompt discharge planning.4

Fig 1.

Fig 1.

Time taken for Clinical Frailty Scale scoring to be done in the emergency department, total 96 patients (November 2021).

CGAs are multidisciplinary diagnostic processes to evaluate various factors including medical, functional, social and psychological.5 While a full CGA in an acute setting may not be possible due to time pressures, the initiation and continuation in community settings allows for better prognoses for these patients and in turn can lead to fewer hospital attendances and readmissions.

In conclusion, the ever-growing burden of an ageing population with multi-morbidities and frailty will lead to an increasing cost and burden on the National Health Service (NHS) and as such the importance of recognising frailty in an acute setting and the consequences of delays will ultimately cost time and money. Therefore, the emphasis now must be on education for all healthcare professionals in primary care, secondary care and community teams on the early identification and management of frailty, CFS and CGAs. With the aim that with education, we will meet the needs of this ever-growing frail population.

References

  • 1.Kingston A, Robinson L, Booth H, et al. Projections of multi-morbidity in the older population in England to 2035: estimates from the Population Ageing and Care Simulation (PACSim) model. Age Ageing 2018;47:374–380. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.Bennet JE, Guangquan L, Foreman K, et al. The future of life expectancy and life expectancy inequalities in England and Wales: Bayesian spatiotemporal forecasting. Lancet 2015;386:163–170. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 3.Clegg A, Young J, Iliffe S, Rikkert MO, Rockwood K. Frailty in elderly people. Lancet 2013;02381:752–62. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 4.Juma S, Taabuzuing M-M, Montero-Odasso M. Clinical Frailty Scale in an acute medicine unit: a simple tool that predicts length of stay. Can Geriatr J 2016;19:34–39. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 5.Lee H, Lee E, Jang I-Y. Frailty and Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment. J Korean Med Sci 2020;35:e16. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Future Healthcare Journal are provided here courtesy of Royal College of Physicians

RESOURCES