We chat to Physiotherapist and Consultant Practitioner, Esther Clift about her pioneering role in the management of frailty. A varied career, where a passion for working with older people was ignited in Southampton, where she undertook an MSc in Gerontology. She currently leads an Acute Frailty Service on the Isle of Wight. 

What is frailty and how can the multi-disciplinary team support it? We chat to Esther about helping older people to live better lives, the risks of decompensation and the importance of goal-setting with patients. We hear how the Isle of Wight, as a ‘petri-dish’ of frailty is the ideal place to pioneer this new role.

We continue the theme of frailty in our micro-discussion when we review the document ‘Joining the Dots: A Blueprint for Preventing and Managing Frailty in Older People’ from the British Geriatrics Society Joining the Dots: A blueprint for preventing and managing frailty in older people | British Geriatrics Society (bgs.org.uk). Is what we need a national frailty service - or indeed, a National Care Service…?

Bonus Content! We chat to Esther about the challenges, benefits and controversies over advanced practitioner roles. https://www.theauralapothecary.com/p/bonus-material/.

Also, check out STC chat about his career and more medicines stories on the recent Pharmacist Diaries podcast.  https://www.pharmacistdiaries.com/podcast/140

As with all of our guests, Esther shares with us a Memory Evoking Medicine, a career anthem and book that has influenced her career or life.

Our new website is now live https://www.theauralapothecary.com/ and as well as being a searchable database of all episodes, we will be uploading transcripts and extra content for your enjoyment and education. Have a look and let us know what you think! 

Our latest blog posts talks about our first live public show - ‘Music, Memories and Medicines’ - have a read here; https://www.theauralapothecary.com/blog/the-three-apothecaries-music-medicines-and-memories/. To get in touch follow us on Twitter and Instagram @auralapothecary or email us at [email protected] . Don’t forget to rate us and comment wherever you have got this podcast from. 

You can listen to the Aural Apothecary playlist here; https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3OsWj4w8sxsvuwR9zMXgn5?si=tiHXrQI7QsGtSQwPyz1KBg 

You can view the Aural Apothecary Library here;  https://litalist.com/shelf/view-bookcase?publicId=KN6E3O