Older People’s Medicine

Older people’s medicine service at ESNEFT

The older people’s medicine service focuses on supporting frail older patients, in hospital and in the community.  We help people with many conditions, including:

• movement disorders
• dementia
• frailty
• delirium
• complex care
• orthogeriatrics (caring for the older person with bone problems)
• Parkinsons

Frailty Assessment Base at Ipswich Hospital

The older people’s medicine department is proactive in improving the health of older people via the Frailty Assessment Base (FAB). Patients who are referred by GPs, or identified in the Emergency Department, are brought to the FAB as a “one-stop shop”. They will spend 3 to 4 hours here, having their complex needs addressed.

Patients will have a heart tracing and blood tests. Blood pressure will be measured lying and standing as part of the assessment. If needed, X-rays and scans will be performed.

Patients will receive a review from a consultant geriatrician, a therapist, a specialist nurse, a pharmacist and a dietitian. These professionals work together to look at the patient holistically in order to keep them active, healthy and at home.

The team sees older people with surgical problems who have become hospitalised on a daily basis. All patients with a fractured hip are seen daily by our orthogeriatrics team.

Ipswich Frailty Assessment Base Accessibility information from AccessAble (Opens in a new window).