A DHU Healthcare service that quickly responds to people who have suffered a fall in their home or place of care in Leicestershire and Rutland has been extended over the winter period following a successful pilot.
The DHU Leicestershire and Rutland Urgent Falls Response Service was called out more than 450 times between October 2021 and July 2022 to treat residents who had fallen, suffered non-serious injuries and couldn’t get up unaided.
The rapid response service is designed to attend non-emergencies where the patient needs medical attention or help with their mobility, providing care and treatment at their place of residence to reduce hospital admissions and ease the pressure on the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS).
The eight month pilot had already been extended to a year and was introduced to provide a companion service to the Integrated Crisis Response Service that provides falls support to the people in the city of Leicester. But with a challenging winter expected for health services across the country, extending it further until at least March next year will ensure that residents across the rest of Leicestershire and Rutland will continue to have access to the same level of service as those living in the city.
‘Essential part of community care’
Elizabeth Amias is Deputy Director of Urgent Care Service Development at DHU Healthcare. She said: “We’re delighted that the Integrated Care Board have extended the service for at least another six months. With more than 500 patients having already benefitted from the care given by this amazing team in the first year it’s great that we can continue to support Leicestershire and Rutland patients through winter. Suffering a fall in your home can be a traumatic experience so to have access to a service specifically designed to reach patients’ homes quickly and give the compassionate care needed to literally get them back on their feet without needing to go to hospital, is an essential part of the community care we aim to provide.
“Previously there was only a service available in Leicester city which placed tremendous pressure on EMAS to attend falls at home in the rest of the county and sometimes meant that patients faced longer waits, which can often lead to admission to hospital due to complications. We all know that demand on emergency services is increasing so our falls service supports our very busy ambulance service by providing care to those who have fallen without serious injury but who still need a degree of urgent, but not necessarily emergency, care.”
The team can respond to referrals directly from EMAS, calls from 111, nursing and residential homes, health visitors, midwives, adult, social and community care workers as well as physiotherapists and occupational therapists who work in the community. They receive referrals between 8am and 6pm, seven days a week using a number of DHU cars that are staffed with a clinician and a driver who is also a healthcare assistant, complemented by a range of lifting and patient handling equipment and medication commonly used to deliver urgent care and make the patient comfortable.
Patient-centred care
Elizabeth added: “We will know the patient’s circumstances before arrival which is part of the triage process. For example, if the patient has a serious injury, is on anticoagulants and has hit their head, or is experiencing severe bleeding then we refer to EMAS, whilst we respond to the patients who can be safely lifted and given non-emergency medical care such as stitches. We also address the potential cause of the fall, for example treating an infection, and refer patients to services that may prevent them falling again.
“The numbers represent a large number of people who have been attended to quickly and potentially avoided being admitted to hospital. That means faster recovery, a better outcome for the patient whilst in hospitals beds are available faster for those who need them. That’s the bigger picture behind our falls service; to provide a quick response to those who fall and are unable to get back up before their health deteriorates, releasing further capacity within the emergency services.”
‘Providing support for frail patients’
Dr Rekash Inamdar, GP and Clinical Lead for Community Care and Home First for the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board, added: "We are extremely proud to announce the extension of the successful Urgent Falls Response Service provided by DHU. This will provide support for frail patients, who have fallen without serious injury in the community, who are unable to get up themselves and aid them up to safety using the latest technology.
“We know that, for our frailer patients, the risk of having a fall tends to be greater over the winter months and this service will help reach patients as quickly as possible during the busiest time of year. It is also an example of our ‘home first’ approach to care – giving patients responsive care at home, safely and conveniently, rather than unnecessarily utilising ambulances and being taken to hospital. We want to make sure people get the right care in the right place this winter."
The DHU Leicestershire and County Urgent Falls Response Service is due to continue providing care in the county until March 2023 with a further decision about the long-term future of the service expected before then.