Falls, delirium, dementia, polypharmacy, frailty, continence, and comprehensive geriatric assessment.
Mental capacity assessment under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 is a legal and clinical skill requiring assessment of whether a patient can understand, retain, weigh, and communicate a specific decision at a specific time.
Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) is a multidimensional, interdisciplinary diagnostic process to determine the medical, psychological, functional, and social capabilities of a frail older person to develop a coordinated care plan.
Constipation affects up to 50% of older adults and care home residents, requiring identification of reversible causes and a stepwise approach to laxative therapy, with particular attention to medication-related and secondary causes.
Delirium is an acute, fluctuating disturbance of consciousness and cognition caused by an underlying medical condition, affecting up to 30% of hospitalised older adults and associated with increased mortality.
Dementia is a progressive syndrome of cognitive decline affecting approximately 900,000 people in the UK, with Alzheimer's disease being the most common cause, requiring early diagnosis, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, and comprehensive support.
Effective discharge planning is a structured process beginning at admission to ensure safe, timely transition from hospital to home or appropriate care setting, reducing readmissions and improving patient outcomes.
Elder abuse affects approximately 500,000 older people in the UK at any time, requiring healthcare professionals to recognise, report, and respond to suspected abuse under safeguarding duties.
End of life care for older adults requires recognition of dying, symptom management, personalised care planning, and support for patients and families, guided by principles of comfort, dignity, and individual choice.
Falls are the most common cause of injury-related death in people over 75 in the UK, requiring a multifactorial risk assessment and individualised intervention programme.
Frailty is a state of increased vulnerability to poor resolution of homeostasis after a stressor event, identified using validated tools and managed through comprehensive geriatric assessment.
Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting approximately 150,000 people in the UK, characterised by bradykinesia, rigidity, and rest tremor, managed with levodopa as the mainstay of treatment.
Polypharmacy is the concurrent use of multiple medications, commonly defined as 5 or more regular drugs, with deprescribing being the planned, supervised withdrawal of inappropriate medications to improve outcomes.
Pressure ulcers are localised injuries to the skin and underlying tissue, usually over a bony prominence, caused by sustained pressure, affecting approximately 700,000 people per year in the UK and largely preventable.