On 12 March 2025, we concluded our Provocation Series 2 with a thought-provoking seminar exploring frailty through clinical, social, and existential lenses. Led by Professor Susan Pickard (Director of the Centre for Ageing and the Life Course and Professor of Sociology in the School of Law and Social Justice at the University of Liverpool), Dr. Victoria Cluley (Assistant Professor in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham), and Dr. Chris Williams (a practising GP and Director of Clinical Studies at Leicester Medical School), the session provided deep insights into the lived experience of frailty, calling for a transformation in how healthcare professionals perceive and address ageing.
Challenging Negative Assumptions About Frailty
A key theme that emerged from the discussions was the urgent need to challenge negative assumptions surrounding frailty and ageing. Participants highlighted that perceptions often change when practitioners themselves become service users or experience the system on behalf of a loved one. This shift in perspective underscores the importance of seeing older adults as whole individuals with rich life histories rather than as a sum of their medical conditions.
One group emphasised the value of engaging patients in meaningful conversations about their priorities and preferences. Rather than a purely diagnostic approach, patient-centred care should involve negotiation on how individuals wish to engage with healthcare services. However, a recurring challenge identified was the time constraints within NHS practice, making it difficult to foster trust and continuity of care.
Developing the Right Interpersonal Skills and Awareness
Discussions also focused on how healthcare professionals, especially those early in their careers, can develop interpersonal skills essential for meaningful patient engagement. A notable concern was the decline in conversational skills among younger professionals, attributed to the increasing reliance on digital communication. Experienced practitioners often have greater confidence in engaging with older patients, and participants suggested that mentorship opportunities between senior and junior staff could enhance these skills.
Additionally, the group explored the importance of maintaining a holistic, non-transactional approach to patient care. Simple observational techniques—such as paying attention to how patients interact in waiting areas or engaging in casual conversations while walking them to appointments—were cited as small but impactful ways to build rapport and understanding.
Organising Care to Better Meet Patient Needs
The breakout discussions also delved into how healthcare systems can be reshaped to better serve older adults. Several key issues were raised, including logistical barriers to accessing services, the discomfort some patients feel with labels such as “Frailty Nurse,” and the need for proactive rather than reactive ageing services.
Participants called for a shift away from hospital-based care models towards community-based interventions, which allow for more personalised, patient-centred approaches. Moreover, integrating frailty awareness into pre-registration training for healthcare professionals was deemed crucial—but not in a tokenistic manner. Instead, frailty should be embedded in wider conversations about patient experience, with organisations held accountable for how well they listen to and respond to older adults’ needs.
Looking Forward
The seminar reinforced the idea that frailty is not just a medical condition but a deeply personal and societal experience. The insights shared were a powerful reminder that fostering a compassionate, patient-centred approach requires both structural changes and individual mindset shifts.
As we continue our work, we aim to co-create innovative strategies that challenge stigma, improve care models, and ultimately reframe how frailty is understood within healthcare and beyond.
We are conscious that our provocation seminars only just scratch the surface of these important topics and are very much the start of a conversation.
With that in mind, we will be running a follow-up discussion with the researchers from the University of Liverpool to explore some of the ideas that came out of the provocation in more depth. We have called these “re-action learning” sessions – drawing on action-learning principles to create an opportunity to extend the conversation in a direction that matters to you and with a focus on identifying ways in which we might work together to drive changes to healthcare practices, policies and/or new research collaborations.
If you would be interested in taking part in this session, please contact Kate Bulpin at katebulpin@outlook.com.
Series 3 Launching Soon
The Series 2 of our Provocation Seminar Series in collaboration with the University of Liverpool has now concluded, but we are excited to announce that Series 3 will be launching soon. Stay updated on upcoming events and discussions by subscribing to our newsletter.