GPs failing older people living with frailty, National Audit Office finds

GPs are failing to provide adequate support for people living with frailty, an independent watchdog has found.

Frailty is a syndrome related to ageing and in which body systems gradually lose their in-built reserves. Symptoms include exhaustion and people living with frailty are more likely to be housebound.

GPs are required to identify any registered patient aged 65 or over who is living with frailty, but only one in six were assessed for the condition in 2024/25, according to a National Audit Office (NAO) report. One in four were assessed in 2017/18.

GPs have said the failures are partly the result of their increasing workload and a shrinking workforce.

The report also found that of the 226,000 patients diagnosed with frailty in 2024/25, only 18% had been assessed for fall risk and j