Implementing a perioperative care of older people undergoing surgery (POPS) service: findings from a multi-site qualitative implementation study (THIS Institute, 6 September 2023)

Summary

The number of older people having surgery is increasing. However, older patients are more likely to have complications after surgery than younger patients as they often have multiple health conditions and age-related problems such as frailty and a decline in mental ability. These factors increase the risk of surgery and can hinder recovery.

Surgical pre-assessment usually focuses on the patient’s physical fitness for surgery, not the broader range of health-related factors that are important to consider in older patients.

The Perioperative care for Older People undergoing Surgery (POPS) model was developed to provide a holistic assessment of an older person’s medical, physiological and functional condition prior to surgery. The assessment is then used to inform interventions that can reduce the risk of complications.

The POPS model is increasingly being implemented across the English and Welsh NHS, but there are often challenges in introducing these new ways of providing care that need to be better understood.

This independent study, led by THIS Institute Fellow Professor Justin Waring, outlines the key activities and strategies that are needed for the POPS model to be successfully implemented and become part of routine practice in a hospital.

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