Follow the conference on X #HospitalDeconditioning
This conference provides a practical approach to preventing hospital acquired deconditioning in older adults, and moving beyond this to ensuring your patients are as active as possible and enabling reconditioning. It is widely recognised that hospital acquired deconditioning is a major issue in hospitals leading to functional decline, falls, readmissions, pressures on social care support and increase mortality. The conference will use case studies of best practice to support you to optimise safe activity for older people your service, and prevent both physical and cognitive deconditioning.
“Frailty-attuned acute hospital care focuses on meeting the complex needs of older people living with frailty to prevent unnecessary time in hospital and the acquired harm such as delirium, deconditioning and poor outcomes.”
NHS England, The Model Emergency Department, February 2026
All healthcare staff working on inpatient wards should: - be proactive in supporting completion of MASA assessments - work with patients to ensure they remain active and safe while in hospital - know how to provide safe care when a patient has a fall
National Audit of Inpatient Falls October 2025”
Deconditioning syndrome can be defined as the ‘condition of physiological, psychological and functional decline that occurs as a result of complex physical changes’, which happens with prolonged bed rest and the associated loss of muscle strength. We know half of admitted frail older patients experience functional decline between admission and discharge, and up to 50% of older people can become incontinent within 48 hours of admission. In the first seven days of admission, inpatients have reduced muscle strength by up to 10%, reduced circulation by up to 25% and reduced dignity, quality, confidence, independence and choice… There is evidence to share the findings of the negative impact of lack of movement due to inappropriately prolonged bed rest, so we can now change and establish an increase in activity in all patients – but more specifically, in older patients. There is now an urgent and growing need to shift focus from just avoiding deconditioning and to promote reconditioning.
Dr Amit Arora, Recondition the nation, NHS England
The conference will also update delegates on the new approach to assessment through Multifactorial Assessment to Optimise Safe Activity (MASA) which has been developed by the Royal College of Physicians and recommended for use by the National Audit of Inpatient Falls (NAIF). In the 2025 National Audit of Inpatient Falls only 43% of trusts reached the requirements of KP1: Proportion of patients with a high quality multifactorial assessment to optimise safe activity (MASA). The audit recommended that ICBs in England and Health Boards in Wales should ensure providers undertake a facilities audit in 2026 and review organisational capacity to support patients to move safely while in hospitals and effectively and safely manage patients who have fallen.
The purpose of the Multifactorial Assessment to optimise Safe Activity (MASA) is to prepare and encourage a hospitalised older adult to be as active as possible by identifying and addressing issues that may compromise their safety when moving around. We hope that positive communication concerning being active, rather than the more negative message of preventing a feared event (a fall), will enable staff, patients and families to feel confident in encouraging activity.
Royal College of Physicians, What is MASA
This conference will enable you to:
Network with colleagues who are working to prevent deconditioning and optimise safe activity for older inpatients
Reflect on the evidence, national developments and learning
Implement the new approach to assessment in line with RCP and NAIF: Multifactorial Assessment to optimise safe activity (MASA)
Understand the relationship between deconditioning and falls
Learn from outstanding practice in reconditioning and promoting activity
Improve the way you prevent cognitive deconditioning
Ensure accountability and ownership for maintaining patients mobility and function whilst in hospital
Develop your skills in auditing progress and practice
Learn from case studies using a quality improvement approach to promoting safe activity
Change behaviour and culture
Move from treatment to prevention and reconditioning
Enable people to maintain independence and return to normal life as quickly as possible
Understand the challenge of reversing deconditioning
Self-assess and reflect on your own practice
Supports CPD professional development and acts as revalidation evidence. This course provides 5 Hrs training for CPD subject to peer group
