Frailty

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As people are living longer frailty is becoming more common and we are beginning to talk about how it affects peoples lives, and what can be done to help. NHS England describes frailty as a loss of resilience that means people don’t bounce back quickly after a physical or mental illness, an accident or other stressful event. 

Frailty develops slowly over years with lots of small issues adding up. As a result, emergencies for frail people are usually triggered by seemingly small events such as a minor infection, a fall, or a change in medication.
Frailty is often subtle to start with, and for this reason it often goes unidentified for some time.

Changing perceptions Research shows that the public view the term ‘frailty’ negatively. Bristol Community Health (BCH) and many other organisations across the UK are working to renew the term and show that frailty does not just relate to someone who is incapable. Frailty is now widely accepted to be a long-term health condition. 

Bristol Community Health have produced the Maximising independence booklet to provide information to patients, carers and relatives about frailty. Thank you to BCH for allowing us to share this helpful booklet with our patients.