At present the Irish health system finds it difficult to cope with older patients presenting to the Emergency Departments (ED) of its hospitals. The proportion of Irish people over 65 will double over the next 25 years and as a significant proportion of older people are frail, this will have major implications for the Irish health system. A recent report by The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) recommended implementation of admission avoidance services and dedicated tailored care of the oldest old in emergency settings as a matter of urgency. Home FIRsT (Frailty Intervention Response Team) are an innovative multi disciplinary (MDT) team, dedicated to and experienced in care of the older person, who were introduced to the emergency department (ED) of St.James’s Hospital in May 2017. To date they have seen over 1,500 patients. If such teams are to be spread to other hospitals it is important that we understand the most efficient way of assessing older patients who present to EDs. The aim of this study is to examine the utility of physical measures and pen and paper tests to identify frail older people in an Irish emergency department setting. This data will help us plan services so as to reduce the number of older patients on trolleys.
