Forth Valley Royal Hospital has officially opened a new 23-bed Frailty Unit within its Acute Assessment Unit, dedicated to delivering high-quality care for frail older patients.

The Unit, which has only been operational for a few weeks, is already showing promising results in improving care and outcomes for patients.

Frailty is a recognised clinical condition, related to the ageing process, where the body’s reserves and resilience diminish over time, making individuals less able to recover quickly after an illness, infection or accident. This means even relatively minor health problems can have a serious impact on an individual’s health and wellbeing.

It’s characterised by a decline in several body systems including reduced muscle strength, weakened bones, poor eyesight, hearing, fatigue and memory problems. These, in turn, can increase the risk of falls, disability, hospital admissions and the need for long-term care.

People with frailty are also at risk of developing conditions such as anxiety and depression so ensuring people have access to comprehensive assessment and joined up care, treatment and support is vital to help prevent or slow further decline.

Around 10% of people aged over 65 live with frailty which rises to between 25% and 50% for those aged over 85.

The aim of the new Acute Frailty Unit is to ensure older adults receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place. Through early identification and screening, the team can intervene quickly, helping to slow or even reverse the progression of frailty in many cases.

At the heart of the Unit’s approach is early access to comprehensive geriatric assessments along with a multidisciplinary and holistic method of evaluating patients to identify individual goals. This type of care and approach has been shown to reduce levels of illness, disease and mortality by ensuring more tailored treatment plans and better long-term outcomes.

Lindsay McKay, Frailty Team Lead at Forth Valley Royal Hospital, said: “This new Frailty Unit represents a major step forward in how we care for older people across Forth Valley. By recognising frailty early and provided focused, multidisciplinary care, we’re seeing better outcomes and delivering more coordinated and efficient services overall.”

Although still in its early stages, the Unit has already made a significant impact, showing a reduction in the length of time patients are staying in hospital, an increase in direct discharges, and shorter waiting times in the Emergency Department – which are all contributing to improved capacity and flow across the hospital site and a better experience for patients.

The development of the Acute Frailty Unit is part of the Health Board’s wider commitment to the delivery of innovative, person-centred care to prevent ill health and support healthy ageing across Forth Valley.