Participants will need to be referred by their general practitioners.  Allied Health professionals can also refer into the service; however the participant’s GP is required to agree.  

Eligibility criteria: 

• The participant is aged over 65 years old (older person) or over 55 years if they are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander 
• The participant has scored more than 1 in the FRAIL scale risk assessment 
• The participant is not in palliative care.  
• The participant lives in the community and does not currently reside in a Residential Aged Care Home
• The participant requires improved self-management strategies and skills to optimise ongoing care
• The participant can give voluntary, informed consent for the ongoing collection of audit data.

There are many means by which frailty can creep-in as one gets older. It can be associated with increased falls, poor mobility, complications post procedures or surgery, admission to hospital, poor nutrition, multiple medications, depression, changes in cognitive function and loneliness. 

It is important that frailty is not something that is simply ‘put up’ with and allowed to impact one’s quality of life. Screening and assessing for frailty should be done sooner rather than later if health conditions change in an elderly person. 

The Frailty Care in the Community program is a multidisciplinary approach that is designed so that participants can explore a range of different strategies to reduce the risk for frailty, in the hope of improving independence and safety whilst living at home, protecting against negative health outcomes and promoting wellbeing. 

Participants will be able to access psychologists, physiotherapists, exercise physiologists, dieticians and pharmacists with special interest in aged care. The program will involve a variety of individual appointments and group-based movement sessions personalised to the patient’s needs and will improve the navigation to community health services. A fundamental part of the program will focus on social interaction and reducing isolation. Home visitations are also available for high-risk patients.

Frailty Program Referral

Resources for Patients 

Resources for Clinicians

Joyce McSwan

Frailty in the Community Program Office Suite – Corporate House  Suite 21 and 23, 155 Varsity Parade, Varsity Lakes, QLD 4227

frailtyprogram@painwise.com.au

Phone: 0412 327 795

Fax: 07 3539 9801