Reducing Health Inequalities for People Living with Frailty

Populations experiencing inequalities are more likely to experience premature frailty and those with the greatest need often also have the greatest difficulty in accessing and receiving appropriate care and support.

In order to redress this, a new resource from members of the VCSE Health and Wellbeing Alliance sets out practical recommendations and examples of how commissioners, service providers and health, care and support staff can successfully overcome barriers to healthcare for people at greater risk of frailty as a result of health inequalities.

Diagnosis and management of frailty can play a pivotal role in the prevention of poor health, but current clinical practice often only focusses almost exclusively on people aged 65 and older. This report shows that assessment for frailty based on patient need, rather than age, could provide welcome opportunities for early interventions in populations experiencing premature frailty.

The report offers key insights on how health and care services can work in collaborative, holistic and inclusive ways to reduce health inequalities for people living with frailty, and offer all patients the support needed to manage the condition long-term.

The resource was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care, Public Health England, NHS England and NHS Improvement and developed by Friends Families and Travellers, Homeless Link, The Association of Mental Health Providers, CHANGE, Collective Voice, FaithAction and MESMAC.

You can read the report here.