Thanks to a generous legacy from the estate of Reginald Dobson, Driffield League of Friends has been able to fund a year-long pilot of a frailty service run by City Health Care Partnership (CHCP) at Alfred Bean hospital.
The service mirrors the one delivered at the Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre in Hull and sees three patients every Friday, offering a comprehensive geriatric assessment to people who have been identified by their GP as having a high frailty need.
Each patient sees a doctor, a pharmacist who can review their medication, a physiotherapist and a clinical support worker. Appointment times are flexible depending on how long each person needs and each consultation can last an hour or more.
John Crawforth was referred to the service by his GP.
“It’s incredible,” said his wife, Mavis. “We’re very happy with everything. They asked about his balance and health issues and if anything was getting worse. He had a medication review and it was all so thorough.”
It was excellent,” John agreed. “And it’s so good having it local.”
Dr Linsay Cunningham from the frailty service is enthusiastic about its benefits.
“I’m so pleased we’re able to bring this amazing service to Driffield. There’s a big need for it, as many people are more isolated than in Hull, but we’ve also got a lot to learn about the local area.
“One of the things we’ve noticed is that many patients don’t have an advanced care plan that details their wishes if they become unwell, so we are very happy to be able to help them to do this.”
Nicky Ingham, Treasurer of Driffield League of Friends, said, “We are delighted that the Dobson Family Charitable Trust has agreed to fund a pilot scheme of the new frailty service at the hospital.
“It is important to us that any new services which we can help bring to the hospital must meet the needs of our local communities, so our local doctors’ input has been invaluable in bringing this idea to fruition.
“We look forward to seeing how the pilot develops over the next year and we hope it will be very beneficial to the patients. I am pleased we are able to use Mr Dobson’s legacy to bring new services to the hospital as well as support the existing services which are already there.”
Dr Jessica Airey from The Park Surgery in Driffield, added: “We are grateful to the League of Friends for funding the new service.
“The model offers a face-to-face multi-disciplinary review and the team then has a video call with the patient’s GP to agree any changes that are needed to their care.
“The aim of the service is to take a proactive approach to maximising the health and wellbeing of severely frail patients, helping to reduce the need for hospital attendances and admissions.
“Similar frailty services in other areas have been very successful and we are delighted to be able to bring these benefits to patients in Driffield.”
