The Minister for Health and Care, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez, has welcomed the early success of the GHA's new Frailty Pathway, introduced earlier this year to improve the way the GHA cares for older and more frail patients.

The Frailty Pathway is a coordinated model of care that brings together an expert multidisciplinary team to assess, manage and support frail individuals at the earliest possible stage. The aim is to proactively intervene and produce clinical outcomes to prevent deterioration in patients. The pathway is already demonstrating significant improvements in patient care and measurable reductions in the length of hospital stays.

Every individual presenting to Accident and Emergency now receives a frailty score between 1 and 9, 9 being the most severe. This ensures that frailty is recognised immediately and acted upon. Those who do not require admission are offered structured frailty follow-ups which include home visits with occupational therapists, physiotherapists or doctor clinical appointments. We ensure they are in the system and not lost in follow up.

Frail individuals are provided with tailored holistic support from a coordinated team of professionals, including doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses and social workers. This multidisciplinary approach ensures that each person receives the right care from the right professional at the right time.

Since the pathway was introduced, the GHA has observed a clear trend of shorter stays for frail patients. All patients over the age of 83 or those with a frailty score of 5 or above, now automatically receive a comprehensive geriatric assessment. This enables faster decision making and enables better planning for discharge and community support. 

The Minister for Health, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez, said: "This pathway is already transforming outcomes for some of the most vulnerable people in our community. By identifying frailty early and coordinating care across a specialist team, we are seeing quicker recoveries, shorter hospital stays and a more compassionate and proactive approach to elderly care. I want to thank every member of the GHA staff who is contributing to this important improvement. The aim has to be to support our elderly and frail in the best way possible and to ensure that they can live at home and independently for as long as possible.”