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Abstract

THIS MONTH, the RCN Emergency Care Association is due to hold its annual conference in Manchester. As an associate of the national Acute Frailty Network, launched in January, I am leading a conference workshop on recognising and managing frailty in emergency and urgent care. One in five emergency department attendances is by an older person (Fox et al 2012) who may be frail with complex comorbidities. There is no internationally agreed definition of frailty, and much dispute about whether it is a physiological or psychological event, or a syndrome. Nevertheless, it can be recognised and acted on, and therefore prevented or treated (Morley et al 2013). Clinical commissioning groups in England are calling on GPs to recognise and manage frailty in the community so that unnecessary admission and prolonged hospital stays can be avoided. Often, however, patients’ frailty is recognised only when they present for emergency or urgent care. This means that the staff involved should be able formally to recognise and assess frailty in patients, ensure that they receive the right treatments, and return to their homes safely. I hope that readers of Emergency Nurse who expect to attend the conference, this year called Championing Competence, will learn more about acute frailty, as well as delirium, the Acute Frailty Network and the Silver Book (Bannerjee et al 2012). ■ ■ For details of the conference, which is scheduled to be held on March 19-20, email events organiser Jane Edey at emergency.care@rcn.org.uk