Acute Geriatric Intervention Service – The right response, first time in a timely manner?
Winter Pressures 2013
Acute Geriatric Intervention Service – The right response, first time in a timely manner?
Overview/Background
The Acute Geriatric Intervention service (AGIS) was established at the commissioners request to
build on the success of the Cambridge Falls Partnership Vehicle (FPV) to help manage the acute and
urgent needs of the elderly and frail elderly. It was a collaborative venture between the East of
England Ambulance Service (EEAST) and Cambridgeshire Community Services (CCS). The FPV had
previously received a National Innovation Award for the services it provided and it was felt that this
experience could be built upon. It was natural for the already established interdisciplinary team to
progress towards providing a more comprehensive approach to healthcare provision for a wider
demographic of elderly patients.
With the publication of “Quality Care for Older People with Urgent and Emergency Care needs” aka “The Silver Book” in summer 2012, examples of current best practice and evidence based practice were readily available, along with some national thinking on how to approach caring for the elderly. Some key points from this publication should be considered;
- Acutely ill elderly people are very sensitive to delays in care. The longer they wait for a definitive consultation; a hospital admission becomes more likely.
- Current model of acute care is unsuited to patients with complex needs; the emphasis should be to provide evidence based decision-making and holistic management.
- Specialist geriatric care improves outcomes, unfortunately illness & disability is often normalised in the elderly and not investigated adequately.
- Multidimensional assessment and multiagency management of older people leads to better outcomes.
- A multidisciplinary response should be available within 2 hours
