Falls

What we offer

Our experienced team of specialist Physiotherapists and an Advanced Clinical Practitioner, with support from Therapy Technical Instructors, deliver a falls service in the community to:

• Provide specialist falls risk assessments to older people who are likely to be frail, have complex presentations/multi-pathologies, unexplained dizziness, and are therefore at higher risk of falls
• Support older people in the community and help to prevent avoidable, unnecessary admission to hospital or premature admission into long-term care
• Provide specialist physiotherapy interventions aiming to reduce the risk of future falls and fear of falling – this may include provision of an exercise programme or onward referral to other services as required
• Identify changes in person’s functional status and confidence during the service’s intervention by use of clinical assessment tools and outcome measures
• Provide specialist falls advice and support to other community health and social care professionals
• Provide education to community health and social care professionals and services in collaboration with other health care teams

The team also works closely with Consultant Geriatricians and a Pharmacist to provide support to complex high risk falls patients.

Who's it for?

The service is for older people:

• Usually aged 60 and above, who are registered with a Leeds GP and identified as being at high risk of falling
• Identified as being complex falls patients requiring specialist assessment, skills and input of the team

Referrals

Information for the public:

If you feel you or a relative would benefit from an assessment, please contact your GP to discuss your needs further. The GP can then make a referral to the most appropriate service dependent on individual need.

Information for healthcare professionals:

Referrals can only be made by a registered healthcare professional. For information on the referral process and how to refer a patient into the service please see Leeds Health Pathways link below.

Leeds Integrated Falls Pathway (leedsth.nhs.uk)

If a person is currently under the care of a Leeds Community Healthcare Neighbourhood Team, then the Neighbourhood Team should be contacted in the first instance to complete a falls risk assessment.

Please note that the Community Falls Service is not a rapid response service. For older people who require urgent assessment and/or short-term daily support at home with activities of daily living, referrals can be made by the person’s GP to the Neighbourhood Team.

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