An undue emphasis on rural older adults in the Chief Medical Officer's annual report 2023?

The Chief Medical Officer's annual report 2023 presents an incomplete and skewed picture of the geography of older people in England. We show that there are higher absolute numbers of older people in urban areas in England and Wales, in contrast to key messages from the CMO report which suggest greater need in rural areas based on relative metrics. The absolute size of the urban-rural difference in the population of older people is projected to grow by 2043. Older adults in urban areas are much more likely to live in deprived areas than older adults in rural areas. The absolute number and prevalence of older adults in poorer health is also higher in urban areas, leading to greater health care needs. Policy-makers need to consider both absolute and relative demographic trends as well as making use of direct measures of health when planning how health care services for older adults are distributed geographically in England.

Data quality and autism: Issues and potential impacts.

INTRODUCTION: Large healthcare datasets can provide insight that has the potential to improve outcomes for patients. However, it is important to understand the strengths and limitations of such datasets so that the insights they provide are accurate and useful. The aim of this study was to identify data inconsistencies within the Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) dataset for autistic patients and assess potential biases introduced through these inconsistencies and their impact on patient outcomes. The study can only identify inconsistencies in recording of autism diagnosis and not whether the inclusion or exclusion of the autism diagnosis is the error. METHODS: Data were extracted from the HES database for the period 1st April 2013 to 31st March 2021 for patients with a diagnosis of autism. First spells in hospital during the study period were identified for each patient and these were linked to any subsequent spell in hospital for the same patient. Data inconsistencies were recorded where autism was not recorded as a diagnosis in a subsequent spell. Features associated with data inconsistencies were identified using a random forest classifiers and regression modelling. RESULTS: Data were available for 172,324 unique patients who had been recorded as having an autism diagnosis on first admission. In total, 43.7 % of subsequent spells were found to have inconsistencies. The features most strongly associated with inconsistencies included greater age, greater deprivation, longer time since the first spell, change in provider, shorter length of stay, being female and a change in the main specialty description. The random forest algorithm had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.864 (95 % CI [0.862 - 0.866]) in predicting a data inconsistency. For patients who died in hospital, inconsistencies in their final spell were significantly associated with being 80 years and over, being female, greater deprivation and use of a palliative care code in the death spell. CONCLUSIONS: Data inconsistencies in the HES database were relatively common in autistic patients and were associated a number of patient and hospital admission characteristics. Such inconsistencies have the potential to distort our understanding of service use in key demographic groups.

Frailty, Comorbidity, and Associations With In-Hospital Mortality in Older COVID-19 Patients: Exploratory Study of Administrative Data.

BACKGROUND: Older adults have worse outcomes following hospitalization with COVID-19, but within this group there is substantial variation. Although frailty and comorbidity are key determinants of mortality, it is less clear which specific manifestations of frailty and comorbidity are associated with the worst outcomes. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify the key comorbidities and domains of frailty that were associated with in-hospital mortality in older patients with COVID-19 using models developed for machine learning algorithms. METHODS: This was a retrospective study that used the Hospital Episode Statistics administrative data set from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, for hospitalized patients in England aged 65 years or older. The data set was split into separate training (70%), test (15%), and validation (15%) data sets during model development. Global frailty was assessed using the Hospital Frailty Risk Score (HFRS) and specific domains of frailty were identified using the Global Frailty Scale (GFS). Comorbidity was assessed using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Additional features employed in the random forest algorithms included age, sex, deprivation, ethnicity, discharge month and year, geographical region, hospital trust, disease severity, and International Statistical Classification of Disease, 10th Edition codes recorded during the admission. Features were selected, preprocessed, and input into a series of random forest classification algorithms developed to identify factors strongly associated with in-hospital mortality. Two models were developed; the first model included the demographic, hospital-related, and disease-related items described above, as well as individual GFS domains and CCI items. The second model was similar to the first but replaced the GFS domains and CCI items with the HFRS as a global measure of frailty. Model performance was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve and measures of model accuracy. RESULTS: In total, 215,831 patients were included. The model using the individual GFS domains and CCI items had an AUROC curve for in-hospital mortality of 90% and a predictive accuracy of 83%. The model using the HFRS had similar performance (AUROC curve 90%, predictive accuracy 82%). The most important frailty items in the GFS were dementia/delirium, falls/fractures, and pressure ulcers/weight loss. The most important comorbidity items in the CCI were cancer, heart failure, and renal disease. CONCLUSIONS: The physical manifestations of frailty and comorbidity, particularly a history of cognitive impairment and falls, may be useful in identification of patients who need additional support during hospitalization with COVID-19.

Data consistency in the English Hospital Episodes Statistics database.

BACKGROUND: To gain maximum insight from large administrative healthcare datasets it is important to understand their data quality. Although a gold standard against which to assess criterion validity rarely exists for such datasets, internal consistency can be evaluated. We aimed to identify inconsistencies in the recording of mandatory International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, tenth revision (ICD-10) codes within the Hospital Episodes Statistics dataset in England. METHODS: Three exemplar medical conditions where recording is mandatory once diagnosed were chosen: autism, type II diabetes mellitus and Parkinson's disease dementia. We identified the first occurrence of the condition ICD-10 code for a patient during the period April 2013 to March 2021 and in subsequent hospital spells. We designed and trained random forest classifiers to identify variables strongly associated with recording inconsistencies. RESULTS: For autism, diabetes and Parkinson's disease dementia respectively, 43.7%, 8.6% and 31.2% of subsequent spells had inconsistencies. Coding inconsistencies were highly correlated with non-coding of an underlying condition, a change in hospital trust and greater time between the spell with the first coded diagnosis and the subsequent spell. For patients with diabetes or Parkinson's disease dementia, the code recording for spells without an overnight stay were found to have a higher rate of inconsistencies. CONCLUSIONS: Data inconsistencies are relatively common for the three conditions considered. Where these mandatory diagnoses are not recorded in administrative datasets, and where clinical decisions are made based on such data, there is potential for this to impact patient care.

Variation in coded frailty syndromes in secondary care administrative data: an international retrospective exploratory study.

OBJECTIVES: Challenges with manual methodologies to identify frailty, have led to enthusiasm for utilising large-scale administrative data, particularly standardised diagnostic codes. However, concerns have been raised regarding coding reliability and variability. We aimed to quantify variation in coding frailty syndromes within standardised diagnostic code fields of an international dataset. SETTING: Pooled data from 37 hospitals in 10 countries from 2010 to 2014. PARTICIPANTS: Patients ≥75 years with admission of >24 hours (N=1 404 671 patient episodes). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Frailty syndrome groups were coded in all standardised diagnostic fields by creation of a binary flag if the relevant diagnosis was present in the 12 months leading to index admission. Volume and percentages of coded frailty syndrome groups by age, gender, year and country were tabulated, and trend analysis provided in line charts. Descriptive statistics including mean, range, and coefficient of variation (CV) were calculated. Relationship to in-hospital mortality, hospital readmission and length of stay were visualised as bar charts. RESULTS: The top four contributors were UK, US, Norway and Australia, which accounted for 75.4% of the volume of admissions. There were 553 595 (39.4%) patient episodes with at least one frailty syndrome group coded. The two most frequently coded frailty syndrome groups were 'Falls and Fractures' (N=3 36 087; 23.9%) and 'Delirium and Dementia' (N=221 072; 15.7%), with the lowest CV. Trend analysis revealed some coding instability over the frailty syndrome groups from 2010 to 2014. The four countries with the lowest CV for coded frailty syndrome groups were Belgium, Australia, USA and UK. There was up to twofold, fourfold and twofold variation difference for outcomes of length of stay, 30-day readmission and inpatient mortality, respectively, across the countries. CONCLUSIONS: Variation in coding frequency for frailty syndromes in standardised diagnostic fields are quantified and described. Recommendations are made to account for this variation when producing risk prediction models.

Variability in COVID-19 in-hospital mortality rates between national health service trusts and regions in England: A national observational study for the Getting It Right First Time Programme.

BACKGROUND: A key first step in optimising COVID-19 patient outcomes during future case-surges is to learn from the experience within individual hospitals during the early stages of the pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of variation in COVID-19 outcomes between National Health Service (NHS) hospital trusts and regions in England using data from March-July 2020. METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study using the Hospital Episode Statistics administrative dataset. Patients aged ≥ 18 years who had a diagnosis of COVID-19 during a hospital stay in England that was completed between March 1st and July 31st, 2020 were included. In-hospital mortality was the primary outcome of interest. In secondary analysis, critical care admission, length of stay and mortality within 30 days of discharge were also investigated. Multilevel logistic regression was used to adjust for covariates. FINDINGS: There were 86,356 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 included in the study, of whom 22,944 (26.6%) died in hospital with COVID-19 as the primary cause of death. After adjusting for covariates, the extent of the variation in-hospital mortality rates between hospital trusts and regions was relatively modest. Trusts with the largest baseline number of beds and a greater proportion of patients admitted to critical care had the lowest in-hospital mortality rates. INTERPRETATION: There is little evidence of clustering of deaths within hospital trusts. There may be opportunities to learn from the experience of individual trusts to help prepare hospitals for future case-surges.

Dr Foster global frailty score: an international retrospective observational study developing and validating a risk prediction model for hospitalised older persons from administrative data sets.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the prevalence of frailty coding within the Dr Foster Global Comparators (GC) international database. We then aimed to develop and validate a risk prediction model, based on frailty syndromes, for key outcomes using the GC data set. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort analysis of data from patients over 75 years of age from the GC international administrative data. A risk prediction model was developed from the initial analysis based on seven frailty syndrome groups and their relationship to outcome metrics. A weighting was then created for each syndrome group and summated to create the Dr Foster Global Frailty Score. Performance of the score for predictive capacity was compared with an established prognostic comorbidity model (Elixhauser) and tested on another administrative database Hospital Episode Statistics (2011-2015), for external validation. SETTING: 34 hospitals from nine countries across Europe, Australia, the UK and USA. RESULTS: Of 6.7 million patient records in the GC database, 1.4 million (20%) were from patients aged 75 years or more. There was marked variation in coding of frailty syndromes between countries and hospitals. Frailty syndromes were coded in 2% to 24% of patient spells. Falls and fractures was the most common syndrome coded (24%). The Dr Foster Global Frailty Score was significantly associated with in-hospital mortality, 30-day non-elective readmission and long length of hospital stay. The score had significant predictive capacity beyond that of other known predictors of poor outcome in older persons, such as comorbidity and chronological age. The score's predictive capacity was higher in the elective group compared with non-elective, and may reflect improved performance in lower acuity states. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty syndromes can be coded in international secondary care administrative data sets. The Dr Foster Global Frailty Score significantly predicts key outcomes. This methodology may be feasibly utilised for case-mix adjustment for older persons internationally.

Seeing is believing - healthcare professionals' perceptions of a complex intervention to improve care towards the end of life: A qualitative interview study.

BACKGROUND: Methods to improve care, trust and communication are important in acute hospitals. Complex interventions aimed at improving care of patients approaching the end of life are increasingly common. While evaluating outcomes of complex interventions is essential, exploring healthcare professionals' perceptions is also required to understand how they are interpreted; this can inform training, education and implementation strategies to ensure fidelity and consistency in use. AIM: To explore healthcare professionals' perceptions of using a complex intervention (AMBER care bundle) to improve care for people approaching the end of life and their understandings of its purpose within clinical practice. DESIGN: Qualitative study of healthcare professionals. Analysis informed by Medical Research Council guidance for process evaluations. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: A total of 20 healthcare professionals (12 nursing and 8 medical) interviewed from three London tertiary National Health Service hospitals. Healthcare professionals recruited from palliative care, oncology, stroke, health and ageing, medicine, neurology and renal/endocrine services. RESULTS: Three views emerged regarding the purpose of a complex intervention towards the end of life: labelling/categorising patients, tool to change care delivery and serving symbolic purpose indirectly affecting behaviours of individuals and teams. All impact upon potential utility of the intervention. Participants described the importance of training and education alongside implementation of the intervention. However, adequate exposure to the intervention was essential to witness its potential added value or embed it into practice. CONCLUSION: Understanding differing interpretations of complex interventions is essential. Consideration of ward composition, casemix and potential exposure to the intervention is critical for their successful implementation.

Frailsafe: from conception to national breakthrough collaborative.

The number of people aged over 60 years worldwide is projected to rise from 605 million in 2000 to almost 2 billion by 2050, while those over 80 years will quadruple to 395 million. Two-thirds of UK acute hospital admissions are over 65, the highest consultation rate in general practice is in those aged 85-89 and the average age of elective surgical patients is increasing. Adjusting medical systems to meet the demographic imperative has been recognised by the World Health Organisation to be the next global healthcare priority and is a key feature of discussions on policy, health services structures, workforce reconfiguration and frontline care delivery.

Improving care for patients whose recovery is uncertain. The AMBER care bundle: design and implementation.

INTRODUCTION: Despite preferences to the contrary, 53% of deaths in England occur in hospital. Difficulties in managing clinical uncertainty can result in delayed recognition that a person may be approaching the end of life, and a failure to address his/her preferences. Planning and shared decision-making for hospital patients need to improve where an underlying condition responds poorly to acute medical treatment and there is a risk of dying in the next 1-2 months. This paper suggests an approach to improve this care. INTERVENTION: A care bundle (the AMBER care bundle) was designed by a multiprofessional development team, which included service users, utilising the model for improvement following an initial scoping exercise. The care bundle includes two identification questions, four subsequent time restricted actions and systematic daily follow-up. CLINICAL IMPACT: This paper describes the development and implementation of a care bundle. From August 2011 to July 2012, 638 patients received care supported by the AMBER care bundle. In total 42.8% died in hospital and a further 14.5% were readmitted as emergencies within 30 days of discharge. Clinical outcome measures are in development. CONCLUSIONS: It has been possible to develop a care bundle addressing a complex area of care which can be a lever for cultural change. The implementation of the AMBER care bundle has the potential to improve care of clinically uncertain hospital patients who may be approaching the end of life by supporting their recognition and prompting discussion of their preferences. Outcomes associated with its use are currently being formally evaluated.

Recognition and management of acute kidney injury in hospitalised patients can be partially improved with the use of a care bundle.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in hospitalised patients but is known be suboptimally managed; the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcomes and Death (NCEPOD) report in 2009 identified significant failings in AKI care. An audit, using standards suggested by the NCEPOD report, of all adult inpatients with AKI in a large central-London NHS hospital in a 7-day period in 2011 showed poor recognition and management of AKI. In response, an AKI 'care bundle' was developed and deployed throughout the hospital along with a programme of enhanced education. Re-audit in 2013 showed that AKI was significantly more likely to have been recognised by the clinical team than in 2011, and patients with AKI were significantly more likely to have had fluid status clinically assessed and nephrotoxic medication stopped in 2013 than in 2011. There was no significant improvement in fluid administration if assessed as hypovolaemic and compliance with the guideline for prevention of contrast nephropathy. In 2011, all audit measures were met in 3.7% of patient-days versus 8.4% in 2013. More in-depth work is necessary to better understand the factors which limit optimal care.

Reducing inappropriate urinary catheter use: quality care initiatives.

Healthcare-acquired urinary infection presents a substantial burden for patients and the healthcare system. Urinary tract infections have not gained the same level of media attention as other healthcare-associated infections, yet interventions to reduce urinary catheter use are one of the top ten recommended patient safety strategies. To improve practice around urinary catheter placement and removal requires interventions to change the expectations and habits of nurses, medical teams and patients regarding the need for a urinary catheter. In the authors' trust, a redesign of the existing urinary catheter device record was undertaken to help avoid unnecessary placement of catheters, and resulted in a reduction of urinary catheters in situ longer than 48 hours. Other strategies included implementation of catheter rounds in a high-usage area, and credit-card-sized education cards. A catheter 'passport' was introduced for patients discharged with a catheter to ensure information for insertion and ongoing use were effectively communicated.

Patient and carer experiences of clinical uncertainty and deterioration, in the face of limited reversibility: A comparative observational study of the AMBER care bundle.

BACKGROUND: Clinical uncertainty is emotionally challenging for patients and carers and creates additional pressures for those clinicians in acute hospitals. The AMBER care bundle was designed to improve care for patients identified as clinically unstable, deteriorating, with limited reversibility and at risk of dying in the next 1-2 months. AIM: To examine the experience of care supported by the AMBER care bundle compared to standard care in the context of clinical uncertainty, deterioration and limited reversibility. DESIGN: A comparative observational mixed-methods study using semi-structured qualitative interviews and a followback survey. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Three large London acute tertiary National Health Service hospitals. Nineteen interviews with 23 patients and carers (10 supported by AMBER care bundle and 9 standard care). Surveys completed by next of kin of 95 deceased patients (59 AMBER care bundle and 36 standard care). RESULTS: The AMBER care bundle was associated with increased frequency of discussions about prognosis between clinicians and patients (χ(2) = 4.09, p = 0.04), higher awareness of their prognosis by patients (χ(2) = 4.29, p = 0.04) and lower clarity in the information received about their condition (χ(2) = 6.26, p = 0.04). Although the consistency and quality of communication were not different between the two groups, those supported by the AMBER care bundle described more unresolved concerns about caring for someone at home. CONCLUSION: Awareness of prognosis appears to be higher among patients supported by the AMBER care bundle, but in this small study this was not translated into higher quality communication, and information was judged less easy to understand. Adequately powered comparative evaluation is urgently needed.

Improving care for patients whose recovery is uncertain. The AMBER care bundle: design and implementation.

INTRODUCTION: Despite preferences to the contrary, 53% of deaths in England occur in hospital. Difficulties in managing clinical uncertainty can result in delayed recognition that a person may be approaching the end of life, and a failure to address his/her preferences. Planning and shared decision-making for hospital patients need to improve where an underlying condition responds poorly to acute medical treatment and there is a risk of dying in the next 1-2 months. This paper suggests an approach to improve this care. INTERVENTION: A care bundle (the AMBER care bundle) was designed by a multiprofessional development team, which included service users, utilising the model for improvement following an initial scoping exercise. The care bundle includes two identification questions, four subsequent time restricted actions and systematic daily follow-up. CLINICAL IMPACT: This paper describes the development and implementation of a care bundle. From August 2011 to July 2012, 638 patients received care supported by the AMBER care bundle. In total 42.8% died in hospital and a further 14.5% were readmitted as emergencies within 30 days of discharge. Clinical outcome measures are in development. CONCLUSIONS: It has been possible to develop a care bundle addressing a complex area of care which can be a lever for cultural change. The implementation of the AMBER care bundle has the potential to improve care of clinically uncertain hospital patients who may be approaching the end of life by supporting their recognition and prompting discussion of their preferences. Outcomes associated with its use are currently being formally evaluated.

Feasibility and effect of supplementing a modified OTAGO intervention with multisensory balance exercises in older people who fall: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility and comparative effect of supplementing a modified OTAGO falls rehabilitation programme with multisensory balance exercises and informed sample size calculation for a definitive trial. DESIGN: Single-blinded randomized controlled trial with pre/postcomparisons using a per-protocol analysis. SETTING: Secondary care-based falls clinic, London, UK. SUBJECTS: Community-dwelling older people (n = 21) experiencing ≥2 non-syncopal falls during previous 12 months. INTERVENTION: Modified OTAGO exercise classes supplemented with supervised home-based rehabilitation consisting of multisensory balance or stretching exercises. Group classes and home sessions each occurred twice-weekly for eight weeks. MEASUREMENTS: A computerised randomization was used for group allocation. A rater, blinded to intervention, performed the assessment including the Functional Gait Assessment (primary outcome), Physiological Profile Assessment, and questionnaires relating to symptoms, balance confidence, and psychological state (secondary outcomes). RESULTS: Significant within-group improvements were noted for the Functional Gait (p < 0.01, r = -0.63) and Physiological Profile Assessments (p < 0.05, r = -0.63) in the OTAGO+multisensory rehabilitation group only and for balance confidence scores in the OTAGO+stretching group (p < 0.01, r = -0.63). Between-group differences were noted for the Functional Gait (p < 0.01, r = -0.71) and Physiological Profile (p < 0.05, r = -0.54) assessments with the OTAGO+multisensory group showing significantly greater improvement. The drop-out rate was similar for both groups (~30%). No serious adverse events were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Supplementing the OTAGO programme with multisensory balance exercises is feasible in older people who fall and may have a beneficial effect on falls risk as measured using the Functional Gait and Short-form Physiological Profile Assessments. An adequately powered randomized controlled trial would require 36 participants to detect an effect size of 1.35 on the Functional Gait Assessment.

Peripheral vestibular dysfunction is prevalent in older adults experiencing multiple non-syncopal falls versus age-matched non-fallers: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: vestibular disorders are common in the general population, increasing with age. However, it is unknown whether older adults who fall have a higher proportion of vestibular impairment compared with age-matched older adult non-fallers. OBJECTIVE: to identify whether a greater proportion of older adult fallers have a peripheral vestibular impairment compared with age-matched healthy controls. DESIGN: case-controlled study. SETTING: tertiary falls and neuro-otology clinics and local community centres, London, UK. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: community-dwelling older adults experiencing: (i) ≥2 unexplained falls within the previous 12-months (Group F, n = 25), (ii) a confirmed peripheral vestibular disorder (Group PV, n = 15) and (iii) healthy non-fallers (Group H, n = 16). All the participants completed quantitative vestibular function tests, the functional gait assessment (FGA), physiological profile assessment (PPA) and subjective measures for common vestibular symptoms (i.e. giddiness), balance confidence during daily activities and psychological state. RESULTS: a clinically significant vestibular impairment was noted for 80% (20/25) of Group F compared with 18.75% (3/16) for Group H (P < 0.01). Group F performed less well in complex gait tasks (FGA), and reported a greater number of falls than both Groups H and PV (P < 0.05). Vestibular symptom scores showed no significant difference between Groups F and PV. CONCLUSION: vestibular dysfunction is significantly more prevalent in older adult fallers versus non-fallers. Individuals referred to a falls clinic are older, more impaired and report more falls than those referred to a neuro-otology department. A greater awareness of vestibular impairments may lead to more effective management and treatment for older adult fallers.

Quality of psychiatric care in the general hospital: referrer perceptions of an inpatient liaison psychiatry service.

AIMS: To explore the experience of senior staff on acute medical wards using an established inpatient liaison psychiatry service and obtain their views on clinically relevant performance measures. METHODS: Semistructured face-to-face interviews with consultants and senior nurses were taped, transcribed and analyzed manually using the framework method of analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-five referrers were interviewed. Four key themes were identified - benefits of the liaison service, potential areas of improvement, indices of service performance such as speed and quality of response and expanded substance misuse service. Respondents felt the liaison service benefited patients, staff and service delivery in the general hospital. Medical consultants wanted stepped management plans devised by consultant liaison psychiatrists. Senior nurses, who perceived themselves as frontline crisis managers, valued on-the-spot input on patient management. CONCLUSIONS: Consultants and senior nurses differed in their expectations of liaison psychiatry. Referrers valued speed of response and regarded time from referral to definitive management plan as a key performance indicator for benchmarking services.

Effective quality improvement of thromboprophylaxis in acute medicine.

INTRODUCTION: The Health Select Committee Report on the prevalence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in 2005 suggested that poor awareness of the risks of VTE contributed significantly to mortality and morbidity in hospitalised patients. It recommended that all hospitalised patients should undergo a VTE risk assessment. In 2006, an audit in medical patients at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (GSTFT) revealed a lack of documentation of VTE risk assessment and poor use of thromboprophylaxis in 'at risk' patients. In 2007, the GSTFT 'Venous Thromboembolism in Adult Medical Inpatients' guideline was approved. The aim was to achieve a thromboprophylaxis culture within Acute Medicine and, in doing so, achieve a high adherence rate. METHODS: The guideline was launched and implemented using a multidisciplinary and multiple intervention approach involving education and feedback, IT intervention, verbal and written reminders, regular audit and process redesign. RESULTS: An audit in 2008 showed that the rate of adherence had increased from 56% preguideline to 96%. However, a repeat audit in 2009 suggested that even though the majority of patients were receiving appropriate thromboprophylaxis, risk assessment documentation was poor. This resulted in treatment being provided to some low-risk patients when it was not required. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the most effective means of achieving VTE guideline adherence is to establish a thromboprophylaxis culture. This can be accomplished through a multiple intervention and continuous feedback approach. However, it is essential to ensure that a comprehensive VTE risk assessment is carried out to ensure that those not requiring treatment do not receive it unnecessarily.

Proactive care of older people undergoing surgery ('POPS'): designing, embedding, evaluating and funding a comprehensive geriatric assessment service for older elective surgical patients.

BACKGROUND: older people undergoing elective surgery have significant post-operative problems prolonging hospitalisation. OBJECTIVE: to design, embed, and evaluate an evidence-based comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) service for at-risk older patients undergoing elective surgery. SETTING: urban teaching hospital. SUBJECTS: elective surgical patients aged 65+. INTERVENTION: multidisciplinary preoperative CGA service with post-operative follow-through (proactive care of older people undergoing surgery ['POPS']). METHODS: observational cohort study and multilevel surveys (development and modelling phase). Prospective 'before and after' comparison (exploratory evaluation). RESULTS: findings from the development phase showed high levels of preoperative co-morbidity, no multidisciplinary preoperative input, and multiple potentially preventable post-operative problems delaying discharge in older elective surgery patients. Comparison of 2 cohorts of elective orthopaedic patients (pre-POPS vs POPS, N = 54) showed the POPS group had fewer post-operative medical complications including pneumonia (20% vs 4% [p = 0.008]) and delirium (19% vs 6% [p = 0.036]), and significant improvements in areas reflecting multidisciplinary practice including pressure sores (19% vs 4% [p = 0.028]), poor pain control (30% vs 2% [p<0.001]), delayed mobilisation (28% vs 9% [p = 0.012]) and inappropriate catheter use (20% vs 7% [p = 0.046]). Length of stay was reduced by 4.5 days. There were fewer delayed discharges relating to medical complications (37% vs 13%) or waits for OT assessment or equipment (20% vs 4%). CONCLUSION: a proactive evidence-based CGA service for at-risk older elective surgical patients was developed according to MRC framework for complex interventions. Pre/post comparison in elective orthopaedic patients showed improved (within methodological limitations) post-operative outcomes indicative of better clinical effectiveness and efficiency, and contributed to the service obtaining mainstream funding. Informed by the present study, a randomised controlled trial is ongoing.