Falls and respiratory conditions are the main reasons people aged 75 or over attended the Emergency Department of University Hospital Kerry.
These findings are part of a retrospective cohort study exploring the impact of frailty status on outcomes among older adults referred to a frailty intervention team (FITT) in UHK.
Physiotherapist at UHK Susan O'Carroll was speaking at the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists annual conference today and discussed the findings.
429 (31.1%) of those aged 75 or over who attended UHK's ED were seen by the FITT team during the sixth-month study period.
241 (56.2%) were female and 164 (42.8%) lived alone; 21% attended for falls, while 15.4% attended due to respiratory conditions.
Overall, 237 (56.2%) were admitted to an inpatient ward and 50 (11.8%) re-attended the ED within 28 days.
Of those seen by the FIT team, 247 (62.8%) were classified as frail.
Susan O'Carroll told the conference that more multidisciplinary teams are needed in the community and in EDs which will speed up the time it takes to see people and give older adults access to specialist care which will improve outcomes.
She says people need to be encouraged to get back into their previous roles, pastimes and social groups, adding frailty is dynamic and modifiable.
New hubs with a multidisciplinary geriatric team focus have been established in Kerry and Ms O'Carroll is encouraging people to seek support before reaching crisis point.
