Falls prevention

GPs across BHR can now refer their patients to the Specialist Primary Care Falls Practitioner, an additional resource within the BHR Falls Prevention and Reduction Scheme. This specialist resource seeks to fill a gap in falls prevention service provision, targeting older residents who are identified as being at low to moderate risk of first time or recurrent falls.

The Primary Care Falls Practitioner is based within primary care and works directly with practices to proactively identify, manage, and support those individuals identified by the practice as being at risk of falls and in need of a more specialist/ detailed review to help reduce the risk of future falls.

Inclusion criteria:

• Unexplained slips/trips/falls or near episodes
• Loss of consciousness associated with falls
• Dizziness
• Poly pharmacy
• Associated symptoms of poor balance /gait/posture, anxiety and fear of falls
• Fractures associated with falls
• Postural hypotension

Exclusion criteria:

• Acute or newly diagnosed neurological conditions (< 1 year)
• Palliative patients in the RED category (End of life care)
• Advanced dementia
• Known history of current substance abuse
• Requires full assistance (AO2) with transfers and mobility i.e. hoist or chair bound
• Patients discharged from hospital who require further rehab to reach baseline
• Nursing/Care home residents

BHR Falls Prevention and Reduction Scheme 

The BHR Falls Prevention and Reduction scheme aims to ensure the provision of a holistic falls service for the BHR older people and frail population. It will focus on the proactive management of all levels of falls risk, through identification and risk / need stratification, with enhanced access to directed multifactorial interventions for the target population that reduces individuals’ risk of future falls and optimises their recovery to independence. 

 Interventions:

1) Primary Care Falls Practitioner operating at a PCN level and based within primary care, responsible for working with practices to:

• Identify patients at risk of experiencing a first time/recurrent fall, using an algorithm developed by CEG which has been embedded on the GP IT systems to generate a list of patients.
• Assess, triage, onward refer/signpost as appropriate, follow-up patients
• Manage moderate risk patients as appropriate 

2) BHR-wide multidisciplinary community falls service for the management of complex patient 

3) Strength and balance sessions for BHR residents aged 50 and over 

4) Falls Prevention training for front line professionals to support the early identification of residents at risk of falls

For further information, please contact Jithesh Muralidharan on Tel.: 0300 555 1051 / 0777 202 0392;

Email: pcfp.bhrfallsservice@nelft.nhs.uk

Visit the following links for further information and supporting documentation:

For further information, please contact Jithesh Muralidharan on Tel.: 0300 555 1051 / 0777 202 0392;

Email: pcfp.bhrfallsservice@nelft.nhs.uk

Visit the following links for further information and supporting documentation:

Primary Care Falls Practitioner referral form

Primary Care Falls Practitioner poster

Primary Care Falls Practitioner information leaflet