People living with frailty are benefiting from being seen by a GP at the front door of our hospital, meaning they receive the right care in the right place.
Dr Katie Sissons works at the Frailty Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) at Hull Royal Infirmary’s Emergency Department, as part of the Frailty Intervention Team (FIT). The team identify these patients when they come in, carry out the appropriate assessments and develop a plan for their care, working together as a multidisciplinary team to support people living with frailty.
The role came about after a need for a different way of working was identified within the frailty service.
Dr Sissons uses community resources like virtual wards, which allows patients to be cared for at home, to ensure they get the correct care. Working across acute and community frailty pathways, she’s been able to develop integrated working and support care closer to home where applicable.
She said: “Home is usually better or preferred than hospital for people living with frailty, and my role is about keeping patients out of hospital where possible. My week is really varied. I work on Frailty SDEC and in ED with the FIT team, and in a variety of locations for City Health Care Partnership (CHCP) in the community. I slotted into two very established teams here, which really helped.
“We may not be fully aware of all the support in the community and how to avail of them. Once they come in, they decondition. This means their mobility is lessened because they’re not getting up out of bed. There is nothing to say GPs cannot work in an acute hospital. It’s about looking at our options and seeing who else can support the work we do. The whole purpose of FIT is to see patients quicker.”
Dr Sissons works in a shared role, which sees her spending three days in the hospital and two days in the community.
Dr Yoghini Nagandran, Clinical Director for Frailty said: “This role came from a desire to think differently about our workforce. We recognised that building a strong frailty service isn’t just about recruiting more consultants, but about bringing in professionals with different skills and perspectives to complement the team.
“When I first spoke to Katie, it was clear that she was enthusiastic and passionate about frailty, and that she would be a great addition to the team. That gave us the confidence to take a different approach.
“There is nothing to say that GPs cannot work in an acute setting, and we wanted to challenge that traditional boundary. We worked closely with our community colleagues to develop a joint role between the acute Trust and the Jean Bishop Centre, creating a more integrated way of working across the pathway.
“It has resulted in a new way of working that has benefited patients, strengthened relationships between teams, and added resilience to the service. It has been a very positive step for us. “Ultimately, it’s about doing what is right for patients and being open to new ways of delivering care.”