CPOC Publishes Guideline for People Living with Frailty in collaboration with the BGS
The Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC) and British Geriatrics Society (BGS) have now published the ‘Guideline for Perioperative Care for People Living with Frailty Undergoing Elective and Emergency Surgery.’ Building on existing guidance, this is the first full pathway guideline for the perioperative management of people living with frailty undergoing surgery.
The impetus for the collaboration has arisen for the need for a complete pathway for people living with frailty to reduce perioperative complications in this high-risk patient group. The guideline was developed by a multidisciplinary working group led by CPOC Deputy Director Dr Jugdeep Dhesi and joint clinical lead Dr Jude Partridge from the British Geriatrics Society. The group encompassed representatives from over twenty organisations involved in the care of patients living with frailty alongside patient and lay involvement.
The scope of this guideline covers all aspects of perioperative care relevant to adults living with
frailty undergoing elective and emergency surgery. It is written for healthcare professionals involved in delivering care throughout the pathway, as well as for patients and their carers, managers and commissioners. Implementation of the guideline will require collaboration across the four nations of the United Kingdom between all stakeholders, underpinned by an implementation strategy, workforce development with supporting education and training resources and evaluation through refinement of current national audit tools. We believe this guideline is an important step in improving outcomes for our patients and healthcare services.
The guideline is the second of many that CPOC will lead on and publish to advance the development of perioperative care transforming surgical pathways to the benefit of patients and clinicians alike, boosting service efficiency and reducing the burden of post-surgical complications through multidisciplinary working and seamless integrated perioperative care.
The COVID pandemic has resulted in increasing numbers of older people waiting for elective surgery and undergoing emergency surgery. Many of these patients are living with frailty, known to worsen postoperative outcomes. We hope that this joint guideline, produced by CPOC and the BGS with wide stakeholder involvement, will support timely restructuring and delivery of patient-centred perioperative services for patients living with frailty being considered for surgery.
