Rapid NICE guidance produced in response to the COVID outbreak clearly outlines the importance of identifying and grading frailty using the Clinical Frailty Scale.
The purpose is to identify patients who are at increased risk of poor outcomes and who may not benefit from critical care interventions.
Not validated in younger populations (below 65 years of age), or in those with learning disability. It may not perform as well in people with stable long term disability such as cerebral palsy, whose outcomes might be very different compared to older people with progressive disability.
Resources for Clinical Frailty Scale / Rockwood
- Rockwood App – A new free app has been developed to support staff to use the clinical frailty scale. Currently it is only available for IOS (i-phones) but availability on the android platform will follow. Just search for Clinical frailty scale in App Store to locate it.
- Presentation – Doctors from Cork University Hospital have put together a very comprehensive 13 minute recorded presentation about CFS and its application, including some examples. Accessible from the link – https://ucc.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=ce9a4d94-fc1c-44ca-8a39-ab9600f624f3
- Clincial Frailty Scale – you can access a copy of the CFS from https://www.bgs.org.uk/sites/default/files/content/attachment/2018-07-05/rockwood_cfs.pdf
- CFS E-Learning Module – A reminder again about the E-learning Module for use of Clinical Frailty Scale – **recommended for all staff using CFS** (takes 30 mins approx.) – https://rise.articulate.com/share/deb4rT02lvONbq4AfcMNRUudcd6QMts3#/
- Top Tips to help you use the Clinical Frailty Scale – https://d29e30c9-ac68-433c-8256-f6f9c1d4a9ec.filesusr.com/ugd/bbd630_fd268508c43140d492168a59a57d2a75.pdf
