Frailty assessment units were opened at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford in July.

Patients who attend the emergency departments or acute medical units are screened by dedicated frailty teams, before being transferred to the units for comprehensive assessment and care by a specialist clinical team.

Within the first six weeks of opening, nearly 200 patients have been cared for in the units. Early data shows patients are spending more than three hours fewer hours in an emergency department after arrival and on average four days less time in hospital overall.

In addition, an average of 75% of patients are going back to their own homes and are less reliant on social care for discharge.

Dr Saskia Jones-Perrott, divisional medical director for medicine and emergency care, said: ‘It is early days, but we are already seeing positive benefits of the frailty assessment units on our more vulnerable patients who are being cared for in the right environment with the right specialist teams. The feedback from both patients and staff has been extremely positive and we will continue to build on this early work.

‘We are also seeing sustained improvements in the time to initial assessment for both adults and our younger patients. This is so important as it means that patients arriving in our emergency departments are seen and assessed quickly, so they treated by the right service for their needs.'

Vanessa Whatley, chief nursing officer and senior responsible officer for the frailty for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System, added: ‘The frailty assessment unit is an integrated approach to supporting frail people with urgent/emergency needs who would otherwise be admitted to hospital. Through this access to specialist review and therapy support, we will get more older frail people back home and, when that is not possible, we will simplify their admission and reduce their length of stay in hospital.

‘With the winter months approaching and the additional pressures that will be placed on health and care services, the introduction of these units will help us support colleagues in emergency departments in managing demand and improving quality of care.'