GHHC - Our New Chapter - The Frailty Service

In January we will start a whole new chapter in our story.

To begin, we need you.

We know that thousands of people in North Hertfordshire and Stevenage could, but don’t, receive our care. Many of those are living with frailty, a condition widely believed to be the major public health challenge of the 21st Century – globally.

It’s time we changed this.

We have a plan, and we would like you to be a part of it.

What is frailty?

Frailty does not mean being elderly and delicate. It’s not about age.

Frailty is living with many health conditions, such as asthma, diabetes, heart failure. The more frail you are, the more difficult simple things like shopping and getting dressed become. You probably know, or have known someone who this sounds like.

When someone has frailty, their health gradually declines. People are turning up to their GPs or A&E with symptoms linked to their increasing frailty. They may be experiencing breathlessness, pain, fatigue.

They may be falling more often.

We have the skills to help relieve these symptoms and improve their quality of life. So in January, following months of careful planning, we are launching an innovative new frailty service – a first for hospices.

Data from our local hospitals We were given access to patient notes (with their personal details removed) of 50 local people with kidney failure, contributing to their frailty.

Collectively they spent over 1291 days in hospital between August 2022 and August 2023. That included 116 A&E admissions (81% arriving by ambulance) and 132 emergency admissions.

12% of those admissions, and 167 days spent in hospital beds, were for urinary infections.

Imagine that magnified across different health conditions.

How will the Frailty Service work?

Our plan is to meet people with frailty earlier – so they can live well at home. Our new service will help keep them out of hospital (saving the NHS money) and give them an alternative lifeline to our expert knowledge when symptoms flair up. Then one day, if they need it, they will have easier access to our palliative care services.

To do this we will: Provide ‘ambulatory care’. This means, for example, the administration of IV antibiotics, or blood transfusions. People can come to us instead of hospital, have the treatment (and a biscuit) and go home.

Identify people suitable for our care, earlier. A dedicated nurse will visit A&E every day to identify patients we can support and move them into the Hospice or the community.

Expand our community services. Our clinicians such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists will start to deliver their services directly into people’s homes, helping to prevent hospital admissions.

Open additional beds. These will be for people with frailty, to support them with symptoms and get them back home again.

Expand our Compassionate Neighbours team. This will support in developing more of our popular and lively social hubs. These are a crucial way of finding more people who would benefit from our services.

What the Frailty Service will cost: To launch on 2 January and run the service until end of March 2024, it will cost us £300,000.

This money will mean we can: • Grow and invest in our workforce • Expand our Compassionate Neighbours hubs • Purchase new equipment to deliver ambulatory care

Become a Founder of the Frailty Service The modern-day hospice movement arose in the 60s to serve an unmet need. There is a new unmet need in this country – so we need to evolve and do the same again.

This is Our New Chapter at Garden House Hospice Care.

We are ready, but we need your support. Could you help us start Our New Chapter?

For a minimum donation of £5,000, you can become a Founder of the Frailty Service.

In recognition of the fundamental role you will be playing to launch this brand new service you will: Be named in an installation within the Hospice building Be listed on our website as a Founder of the Frailty Service Receive bespoke communications detailing the launch and subsequent successes of the new service Have access to exclusive supporter events and opportunities Be forever linked with this ambitious new project.

Registered Charity No. 295257

Our story spans four decades and we have cared for and supported thousands of people in our community. But we can do more.

It’s time for Our New Chapter, but to begin, we need you.

You will receive a phone call from a member of our fundraising team in the next week regarding your potential involvement in Our New Chapter.

In the meantime, if you would like to speak to us directly please contact Carla Pilsworth: Carla.pilsworth@ghhospicecare.org.uk