Between October 2023 and March 2024, over 18,300 people attended our two acute hospitals having experienced a fall – that’s around 101 attendances a day.

Anyone can experience a fall and despite popular opinion, on average only 29 of those 101 people were aged 60 or over. Falls can lead to serious injuries, admission to hospital and the need for long-term care. A single incident can affect a person’s future independence and quality of life. Preventing people from getting injured or ill in the first place is a key priority for our Integrated Care System. We are working together to deliver a fully integrated pathway focusing on prevention through to specialist falls provision.

There is a range of services available across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

Community Resource - Functional Fitness MOTs and ‘Let’s Talk Falls’ in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin
Functional Fitness MOTs are free falls prevention events where attendees are invited to complete a number of physical function tests to find out their fitness performance and discuss changes that can be made to their lifestyle as well as learning practical advice about how to protect themselves from falls. ‘Let’s Talk Falls’ events are shorter events that can be held in smaller, more rural community venues around the county. Contact enquiries@community-resource.org.uk for details of where events are being held. To read more, visit Community Resource receives funding to boost falls prevention initiatives - Community Resource.

Elevate - Energize in Shropshire
A progressive evidence-based strength and balance programme for people in Shropshire, aged over 60, to help prevent falls. Elevate classes reduce the risk of falls by strengthening muscles to improve and maintain posture, coordination, and balance. To read more, visit Strength & balance programmes

FIT4ALL in Telford and Wrekin
Telford and Wrekin’s Community Preventing Falls through exercise is a preventative service. People who have fallen or who are at risk of falling can join for at least 20 weeks. The service is for people aged 65 and over, delivering exercise with the aim to improve muscular strength, flexibility, coordination and balance which will help improve mobility, reduce the risk of falling and maintain independence. To read more, visit Community preventing falls through exercise – Fit4All

Falls Prevention Service in Shropshire
The service, provided by Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust (Shropcom), aims to reduce the number of falls and fall-related injuries. It is made up of a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist, and a nurse, supported by rehabilitation technicians. The service carries out multifactorial risk assessments for people who have fallen, are at risk of falling, or are fearful of falling and offers a range of ways to lower an individual’s risk of falls and to help them stay healthy, active and independent. This includes strength and balance programmes in a variety of community venues across Shropshire and signposting to other services. To read more, visit Falls prevention - services available in Shropshire

Falls Prevention Service in Telford and Wrekin
The service at the Paul’s Brown Day Hospital provided by the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust offers a falls prevention and assessment service for people aged over 65. The unit provides comprehensive Geriatric Assessment for all patients, Mobility and Gait assessments, walking aids, referrals for equipment, identification of cognitive issues, exercise classes for posture strength and mobility. The service links with community organisations to offer groups information and advice around falls safety. It assesses bone density with FRAX and performs bone density infusions for frail patients and runs medical clinics twice a week for medical and medication reviews. To read more, visit Paul Brown Day Hospital – SaTH

Community Therapy Services in Shropshire
This service, provided by Shropcom, provides support for people who may require specific intervention in their home because they are frailer and housebound and because they are at risk or experiencing falls in or due to their home environment. It offers assessments and personalised support, including one-to-one gentle exercises to build muscle strength, in people’s own homes to enable hospital discharge and to reduce the risk of falls.

Urgent Falls Response
In partnership with EMED, Urgent Community Response and West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS), the Falls Urgent Response team will attend to a person, once a WMAS clinician has assessed them as not having an injury. The team will assist the person from the floor if it’s safe to do so and make them comfortable. Urgent Community Response will follow up with a more detailed assessment and any required treatment before referring to a rehabilitation or falls prevention service with the aim of preventing any further falls. The service enables WMAS to respond more quickly to people that have sustained an injury following a fall.