Thousands of blind and partially sighted older people are not receiving any social care support, becoming the latest casualties of the social care crisis, according to Age UK and RNIB.
Surveillance decision
We will not update the guideline at this time.
Reason for the decision
We found 54 new studies relevant to the guideline through the surveillance process. We found one study which may impact recommendations relating to strength and balance training for falls prevention in older people living in the community. We subsequently discussed this with topic experts who noted that there would be a number of relevant studies in this area published in the community setting since the last review date in 2011. Additionally they made us aware of a highly relevant Cochrane review (Gillespie et al. 2012) which is being updated at the moment. Experts highlighted that being able to be more specific in terms of type and duration of intervention would add value to the guideline. However, in light of the update of this directly relevant Cochrane review, it is felt more appropriate to await the outcome of the review and reassess the guideline when this completes. NICE will liaise with the Cochrane Review Group to ensure the update includes the population that is directly applicable to NICE guideline CG161.
Topic experts also raised concerns that service delivery was not adequately covered as part of the 2013 guideline update that focused on falls in the hospital settings. However, a guideline on multimorbidity is in development (publication date September 2016) and it has been confirmed that this guideline will consider falls as a trigger to holistic assessment for frail older people. On that basis, it was felt appropriate to await the completion of this guideline and consider its impact on NICE guideline CG161 at that time.
In light of the above, the decision to update was deferred until both the Cochrane review and the multimorbidity guideline are published.
This study does not provide evidence to suggest current UK government recommendations for older adults – a daily supplement of 10mcg – are "unsafe". People in the UK who currently take vitamin D supplementation as recommended should have no concerns about the results of this trial.
The monthly dosage used in the highest dosage group, which had the greatest amount of falls (1,500mcg), is far higher than the recommend monthly dose of 300mcg.
These findings go on to suggest that taking more than 20mcg a day of vitamin D is not beneficial for older adults.
A report from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman highlights the barriers that older people can face when looking to complain about their care, and makes a number of recommendations to improve older people’s experience of the complaints system.
A ward at Burton’s Queen’s Hospital has been given a new identity as the culmination of 12 months of improvements to the provision of care for frail, elderly people.
Ward 4 has been re-named the ‘Acute Older Person’s Ward’ and an afternoon of celebrations was held to mark the occasion and other recent enhancements to the care of older patients. This move followed the launch in October – by the Trust that runs Queen’s Hospital – of the Elderly People Assistance and Care (EPAC) model – believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.
The EPAC model was developed to empower all clinical staff to deliver an enhanced level of care to older patients, which addresses both their holistic and medical needs on an individual basis.
Introduction The neighbourhood environment can assist the adoption and maintenance of an active lifestyle and affect the physical and mental well-being of older adults. The psychosocial and behavioural mechanisms through which the environment may affect physical and mental well-being are currently poorly understood.
Aim This observational study aims to examine associations between the physical and social neighbourhood environments, physical activity, quality of life and depressive symptoms in Chinese Hong Kong older adults. Open Access Article
Until recently, the focus of many within the 'autism service industry' has been on children and young adults who are on the autism spectrum where 'service transition' usually refers specifically to the transition from children to adult service provision. This article explores 'service transition' from the opposite end of the age scale, that of old age, and incorporates the views of older adults who are on the autism spectrum. In order to design and provide a service that is 'fit for purpose', training of health professionals and consulting with people on the autism spectrum is crucial. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
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Online “brain training” games can improve the cognitive skills of older adults and help them perform day to day tasks such as shopping and managing finances, a study has found. Loging using NHS Athens to access full text