Falls Prevention Team Leaflet - Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Adult Community Services in Greenwich
Your Falls
Prevention Team
Information for
service users
and carers
January 2013

About the Falls Prevention Team
We are a specialist team who work with people in their
own homes who are experiencing falls. We are part of
the Community Assessment and Rehabilitation (CAR)
Service - a community-based health and social care
assessment, rehabilitation and prevention service for
people aged 18 and over.
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physiotherapists
occupational therapists
a falls specialist nurse
a podiatrist
therapy assistant practitioners.
You will be visited by various members of our team to find
out why you are falling and plan how to try to prevent you
falling in the future.
We will visit you at home and spend time talking with you
about your falls and how this may have affected your
day-to-day life and independence.
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There will be a chance for you to ask questions and you
may like to write them down before your appointment and
keep them handy.
Eligibility
You are eligible for this service if you:
● are aged 65 or over
● are experiencing falls
● live in the Royal Borough of Greenwich or
are registered with a Greenwich GP.
Not all people who fall need to be seen by a specialist falls
service, most health or social care services for older
adults also help people who have fallen.
Our aim is to:
work with you to help
prevent falls and support
you to engage in
activities which you
enjoy, to enhance your
independence, safety
and quality of life.
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Who we work with
We work closely with other professionals and services,
including:
● Queen Elizabeth Hospital
- The Falls Clinic
- Osteoporosis specialist nurses
● London Ambulance Service
● Royal Borough of Greenwich
● Age UK Greenwich
● Telecare
● Active for Health.
We also work closely with pharmacists, community nurses
and other Oxleas services, including community health,
mental health and learning disability services.
Working with you
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find out if you have a health concern, ie unexplained
dizziness which may need to be investigated
look at your medication and if necessary arrange for
this to be reviewed
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plan an exercise programme to improve your muscle
strength, mobility and balance
look for hazards in your home and advise how to
make it safer for you
offer advice on how to cope should you fall again
make sure you have the equipment and/or services
that you and your carers need
offer regular support to practise activities which you
may have stopped doing following a fall, such as
cooking, dressing, shopping and gardening
offer shoe and walking assessment.
We will usually work with you for approximately eight
weeks. This will be discussed with you at your visits. At
the end of the eight weeks you will be sent a report
detailing your progress.
A copy is also sent to your GP and the person who asked
us to visit you.
After six months, we will carry out a telephone review to
discuss your progress.
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treat you with respect and dignity
with your permission, involve other professionals
as necessary
support your carer, as required
be responsive and value your views and feedback.
Your opinion matters
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust is committed to providing
the highest standards of care, so we welcome your views
on the services we provide.
If you would like to comment, make a suggestion or make
a complaint, please speak to the person you normally see
or ask to speak to the team manager.
You may also like to speak to our Patient Advice and
Liaison Service (PALS) by ringing the freephone number
on 0800 917 7159.
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Confidentiality
All our staff are required to abide by a strict code of
conduct on confidentiality.
We will only share information with those who need to
know in order to provide good quality care.
Occasionally there may be exceptions to this, for example
to support a clinical audit or to monitor the quality of care
provided. We will usually discuss this with you beforehand.
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How to make a referral
You can refer yourself to the Falls Prevention Team or you
can be referred by your GP or other professional.
If you have any questions or would like to make a referral
please contact the Royal Borough of Greenwich single
point of access enquiry line on:
Tel: 020 8921 2304
Fax: 020 8921 3392.
Community Assessment and Rehabilitation (CAR) Service
Memorial Hospital
Shooters Hill
London SE18 3RZ
Tel: 020 8836 8631
www.oxleas.nhs.uk