The NHS england website has just published a very interesting article on “Frailty” which explores what we mean when we use this word to describe someone or someone’s health. Here is a short excerpt from the article along with a link to the full piece – it’s well worth a read:
“Frailty is a condition characterised by loss of biological reserves across multiple organ systems and increasing vulnerability to physiological decompensation after a stressor event. Put simply, this means a general slowing down and/or not bouncing back quickly from illness, accident or another stressful event. We also know that people living with frailty are at increased risk of adverse events including hospitalisation, nursing home admission and death.
If we are to respond positively to frailty and the challenges it poses we must be prepared to care for people exhibiting the frailty state in just the same way as we care for other long-term conditions. Frailty can now be identified and diagnosed with comparative ease using the validated electronic frailty index. This can lead to targeted assessment and person centred care-plans developed as the condition progresses.”
Read Full Article (link)
