The UK’s first Frailty Admission and Discharge Unit win at the Parliamentary Awards
The UK’s first Orthopaedic Frailty Admission and Discharge Unit (FADU) at the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, has been recognised at the NHS Parliamentary Awards 2024.
The team behind the unit took home the Nursing and Midwifery Award for creating a new pathway to help manage frail elderly patients at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH).
Elderly patients are admitted to the new four bedded-unit following critical injuries, such as hip fractures, and receive dedicated nursing care in a specialist area rather than waiting in the Emergency Department (ED).
NUH is one of the largest providers of hip fracture care in the UK, treating over 850 such cases a year and the only acute trust in Nottinghamshire. Orthopaedic and trauma surgeon and senior researcher Professor Benjamin Ollivere worked with Emily Mulvaney, Trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioner, and other NUH staff, to establish FADU in 2023.
Within the first 12 months, 625 patients were admitted into FADU who would have otherwise waited in ED.
Emily Mulvaney said: “We were really pleased to win. We are the first in the country to do things this way round, so it’s really nice to be recognised for the different way of doing it. We actively pull patients out of ED into a specialised area with specialised staff.
“Within the first year, patients who go through FADU have a 50% reduction in delirium and improved survival. It is a much better overall patient experience, getting them off corridors and out of ED quicker and into a unit that is the in-between before getting to a ward.”
The multidisciplinary team came up with FADU to improve the care and dignity of our frailest patients.
Nottinghamshire MPs Alex Norris, Nadia Whittome, Lilian Greenwood, Steve Yemm and James Naish originally nominated the FADU Team for the award.
Lilian Greenwood, MP for Nottingham South said: “I am delighted that the Frailty Admission and Discharge Unit (FADU) Team at Nottingham's QMC has been recognised for the invaluable work that they do at this year’s NHS Parliamentary Awards. I was incredibly proud to be there to see them win and congratulate them on their well-deserved success.
“I know the multidisciplinary FADU staff work incredibly hard to support and care for our city’s frail residents at a very difficult time. Their efforts make a big difference to patients' experience if hospital, with 97% of them being now seen within 36 hours by an orthogeriatric consultant after arriving at A&E. The Unit's approach is truly trailblazing and I hope that this recognition will help efforts to share this best practice across our NHS.”
The unit is open from 7am – 7.30pm seven days a week and has a 100% occupancy rate. The team are hoping to expand the opening hours in the future to benefit more patients. Patients are moved onto a ward by the time the unit closes to provide flow through the hospital every day.
Anthony May OBE DL, Chief Executive at NUH attended the awards alongside the FADU team. He said: “Congratulations to the Frailty Admission and Discharge Unit team for winning the Nursing and Midwifery Award at the NHS Parliamentary Awards 2024.
“The team should be proud of their hard work and efforts to open the first Orthopaedic Frailty Admissions and Discharge Unit in the UK. This award is a testament to their leadership, drive and determination to deliver the best care for our patients. Thank you.”
The 2024 NHS Parliamentary Awards were held on Monday 14 October in Westminster to recognise the outstanding contribution of staff, volunteers and others working in the health and care sector.