Falls are common in elderly and being one of the leading causes of head injury in older adults. The role of geriatric assessment to optimize care for these elderly patients admitted with head injury is gaining increasing attention in recent years as these patients commonly suffer from one or more geriatric syndromes such as fall, delirium, incontinence, etc. prior and during their hospital stay.
Aspired by the success of the Ortho-geriatric collaborative care model for geriatric patients with hip fracture, neurosurgeons and geriatricians at Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) and Shatin Hospital (SH) collaborated to pilot a pioneer Neurosurgery-Geriatric Co-care Programme since November 2018.
Target patients of the Neurosurgery-Geriatric Co-care Programme are adults aged 70 and older who are admitted under Neurosurgery for fall-related head injury and their new patient journey is highlighted as below:
- In acute neurosurgical ward, patients will be co-cared with Geriatric Liaison Team three times per week for peri-operative optimization of medical condition and to triage for rehabilitation needs.
- In convalescent surgical ward, Geriatric Liaison Team will conduct regular ward rounds on weekdays to address on-going active medical issues, maximize functional recovery, implement early discharge planning and arrange post-discharge support as appropriate.
Evaluation of the Neurosurgery-Geriatric Co-care Programme revealed encouraging results which we would like to share with you in the presentation.
