Funding for a scheme which sees fire service staff are coming to the aid of residents who have fallen in their homes is being extended, a meeting has been told.
The Falls Response Team has helped more than 100 people needing assistance in getting back on their feet or into a chair within just two months.
The scheme, which aims to help cut ambulance waiting times and reduce the need for hospital stays, was launched six months ago – but a fire service performance meeting this week was told that an extension for funding has now been approved.
Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones, chief medical officer for the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (ICB), said:
“I’m delighted this new initiative has got off to such a positive start with glowing patient feedback. Falls are one of the leading causes of avoidable hospital admissions.
“Very often the damage is done by not being able to get back to your feet and lying on the ground for an extended time, not the initial fall.
“Fire and rescue officers already do a great deal to make sure people live in safe homes and this is a valuable extension of this work that is already reducing harm and helping with demand on NHS services.”
Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones
The service sees residents contact the NHS in the first instance before the falls response team – which operates between 8am and 8pm daily – is allocated to attend.
Chief Fire Officer Rob Barber told the meeting:
“It launched on 7th December and it was a pilot for six months. It’s going from strength to strength and I’ve just been informed last week that they want to extend that pilot to 12 months.
“We’ve currently got Chester University doing the formal evaluation on it, but I don’t need them to tell me it’s a really good thing – I’m getting feedback on a regular basis from the families of the people who have fallen and had the service delivered to them.
“If you’ve had a fall and you haven’t got an injury that requires you to go into primary care, you’ll be on the bottom of the list and might be lying on the floor for a number of hours. By that time, particularly for elderly people, you’re going to have some complication that does mean you need a hospital bed.
“The team are doing a fantastic job. They’ve got the equipment, they’ve got the vehicle and they’re also doing other aspects for our health partners as well.
“The Fire Minister last week was really keen to hear about this because we can have such an impact in terms of those vulnerable members of the community.
“Our team have also been delivering a fire safety visit if they’ve been out to a fall at that premise and to family members as well, so that spread of resource has been really positive and seen some really good outcomes from that work.”
Chief Fire Officer Rob Barber
Staffordshire Commissioner Ben Adams said:
“Rescuing people in this way is not only massively advantageous to them, it helps the ambulance service, it helps the NHS more widely and means you’re having a conversation afterwards with those who are most vulnerable.”
Staffordshire Commissioner Ben Adams
