Across Queensland’s public health system, teams and individuals work every day to get better health outcomes for their older patients. The Frail Older Persons Project has been established to support a coordinated approach to improving the quality, safety and care of older Queenslanders.
This statewide project was established during a workshop in November 2018 to identify and prioritise opportunities to improve the care provided to frail older people attending Queensland hospitals. Participants at the workshop included, consumers, general practitioners, geriatricians, emergency and general physicians and representative from residential aged care facilities (RACFs), non-government organisations, statewide clinical networks, nursing, allied health and the department of health. The key priority areas identified to enhance the care provided were;
- Identification of Frailty.
- Residential Aged Care Facility (RACF) Support Service (RaSS).
- Geriatric Emergency Department Intervention (GEDI).
- Inpatient Care - Eat Walk Engage.
- Advance Care Planning - Care at End of Life.
To support these priorities three models of care, which have been proven in the Queensland were scaled across Queensland. The models of care are:
- RACF acute care support services (RaSS) – partnering with RACFs to increase choice of care locations for residents and improve the quality and safety of care provided across the care continuum.
- Geriatric Emergency Department Intervention (GEDI) – front load frailty assessment, prioritise care needs and fast track frail older persons through the emergency department.
- Inpatient Geriatric Model – expanding the “Eat Walk Engage” model of care into two wards at ten hospitals, to reduce complications like delirium and deconditioning and increasing discharge back to patient’s homes.
