A-Z of Services
Elderly care
- Service Contact: CH-TR.neurologyandec@nhs.net
- Reception phone number: 020 8401 3973
- About us
- How to refer
- Purley 3 Stroke Unit
- Acute care of the elderly
- Dementia
- Direct Access TIA Clinic
- About us
- Health Visitors for Older People
- Clinicians
About us
The Elderly Care Service provides consultant-led in-patient care for older people supported by nursing and therapy staff for patients over the age of 65, an advisory service for patients under the care of other medical and surgical teams in the hospital and an out-patient service for patients with general medical problems over the age of 65 at Croydon University Hospital and Purley War Memorial Hospital as well as specialist clinics.
We treat
Croydon University Hospital has a 14 bedded Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) Unit, three general elderly care wards, two of which are dementia friendly environments, an Orthogeriatric Unit for patients age 65 with hip fracture and an all age Acute Stroke Unit.
We also provide an advisory service for patients over 65 years under care of other medical and surgical teams in the hospital.
We offer outpatient service for patients with general medical disorders over the age of 65 years at Croydon University Hospital and Purley War Memorial Hospital with specialist clinics for:
- Direct Access TIA Clinic (Any age)
- Rapid Access Acute Care of the Elderly Clinic
- Falls Clinic (Medical Assessment)
- Parkinson’s Disease and related movement disorders
- Stroke Follow-Up (Any age)
- General Assessment for patients with medical disorders aged 65 and over
- Neuro-Rehabilitation (Medical Assessment - any age)
Elderly Care Appointments
What do I do if I haven’t received my appointment yet?
Please phone 020 8401 3973
What do I do if I want to change or cancel an appointment?
Please phone the above number.
What should I bring to my appointment?
Bring your current medication including any medicines bought over-the-counter.
What time should I arrive for my appointment?
Please arrive 5-10 minutes before the appointment time to allow time for the nurses to weigh you and check your blood pressure.
Contact Us
Please phone 020 8401 3973 or Email: CH-TR.neurologyandec@nhs.net
How to refer
All GP referrals should be made via eRS. Please see this link for a full description and referral information.
Service overview
The Elderly Care Service provides consultant-led in-patient care for older people supported by nursing and therapy staff for patients over the age of 65, an advisory service for patients under care of other medical and surgical teams in the hospital and an out-patient service for patients with general medical problems over the age of 65 at Croydon University Hospital and Purley War Memorial Hospital as well as specialist clinics.
We treat
Croydon University Hospital has a 14 bedded Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) Unit, three general elderly care wards, two of which are dementia friendly environments, an Orthogeriatric Unit for patients age 65 with hip fracture and an all age Acute Stroke Unit.
We also provide an advisory service for patients over 65 years under care of other medical and surgical teams in the hospital.
We offer outpatient service for patients with general medical disorders over the age of 65 years at Croydon University Hospital and Purley War Memorial Hospital with specialist clinics for:
- Rapid Access Acute Care of the Elderly Clinic (CUH Monday to Friday)
- Falls Clinic (Medical Assessment) (at both CUH- Howell Assessment and Rehabilitation Unit (HARU) and Purley War Memorial Hospital)
- Parkinson’s Disease and related movement disorders (CUH - HARU)
- Stroke Follow-Up (Any age - CUH)
- Direct Access TIA Clinic (Any age - CUH Monday to Friday)
- General Assessment for patients with medical disorders over the age of 65 (at both CUH- Howell Assessment and Rehabilitation Unit (HARU) and Purley War Memorial Hospital)
- Neuro-Rehabilitation (Medical Assessment - any age at CUH – HARU, Broad Green Centre and Home Visits)
How to refer
All GP referrals should be made via eRS. Please see this link for a full description and referral information.
General contact details are:
Tel: 020 8401 3973
Email: CH.TR-neurologyandec@nhs.net
GP’s can directly speak to the ACE consultant on call for advice and/or referral for Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment
Monday to Friday 9am-5pm on the ACE Consultant mobile on 07866780136 or via switchboard 020 8401 3000 and bleep 344
Other contacts are:
Falls Clinic (Medical Assessment)
eReferral (Speciality: Geriatric Medicine – Clinic Type: Falls @ CUH or Falls @ Purley Hospital)
Tel: 020 8401 3973
Email: CH.TR-neurologyandec@nhs.net
Community Integrated Falls Service
Tel: 020 8274 6258
Email: ch-tr.FallsReferrals@nhs.net
Parkinson’s Disease and related movement disorders
eRreferral (Specialty: Geriatric Medicine – Clinic Type: Parkinson’s Disease and related movement disorders@ CUH)
Tel: 020 8401 3973
Email: CH.TR-neurologyandec@nhs.net
Stroke (not TIA)
eRreferral (Speciality: Geriatric Medicine – Clinic Type: not otherwise specified – General Assessment @ CUH or Purley War Memorial Hospital)
For general enquiries:
Tel: 020 8401 3973
Email: CH.TR-neurologyandec@nhs.net
Direct Access TIA Clinic
Monday to Friday 9am-3.30pm
(No appointment necessary)
Location Heathfield 1 Ward, Croydon University Hospital
Email: mhn-tr.croydonstroke@nhs.net
Fax TIA pro-forma to 020 8401 3620 or send copy of referral with patient.
Tel: 020 8401 3351
For general enquiries:
Tel: 020 8401 3973
Email: CH.TR-neurologyandec@nhs.net
Assessment for patients with general medical disorders over the age of 65
eReferral (Speciality: Geriatric Medicine – Clinic Type: not otherwise specified – General Assessment @ CUH- HARU or Purley War Memorial Hospital).
For general enquiries:
Tel: 020 8401 3973
Email: CH.TR-neurologyandec@nhs.net
Neuro Rehabilitation Clinic (Medical Assessment) @ CUH or Broad Green Centre
eReferral (Speciality: Geriatric Medicine – Clinic Type: Neuro Rehabilitation Medical Assessment @ CUH or @ Broad Green Centre.
Tel: 020 8401 3973
Email: CH.TR-neurologyandec@nhs.net
Neuro Rehabilitation (Medical Assessment) Home Visits
Telephone: 020 8401 3973
Email: CH.TR-neurologyandec@nhs.net
Consultants
Dr Enas Lawrence - Stroke Medicine and Clinical Director
Dr Karen Kee - Stroke Medicine (Stroke Lead) and College Tutor
Dr Amanda Humphreys - Orthogeriatrics and Clinical Lead for Elderly Care
Dr Joe Rehman - Orthogeriatrics and Fracture Liaison
Dr Nima Hashemi - Acute Geriatric Assessment
Dr Anand Mehta - Parkinson’s disease
Dr Prith Navan - Parkinson’s disease and Surgical Liaison
Dr Alan Earnshaw - Surgical Liaison and Dementia
Dr Wallace Tan - Falls and Adult Safeguarding
Dr Joanne Bramble - Medical Law and Ethics and Adult Safeguarding
Dr Liz Heitz - Community Geriatrics and Intermediate Care
Dr Chris Bell - Community Geriatrics and Intermediate Care
Pam Stephens – Head of Nursing for Elderly Care
Purley 3 Stroke Unit
Our Purley 3 Stroke Unit at Croydon University Hospital is where our inpatients stay if they have experienced a stroke. We aim to provide the highest standard of care and work closely as a team, involving you and your family in your care as much as possible.
Acute care of the elderly
The ACE Clinic and Hotline/Advice service aims to support and care for older patients from the emergency department, primary care or other appropriate clinical teams. It is a consultant-led service that embraces a multidisciplinary approach to improve quality of care and patient experience.
The ACE service offers GPs guidance on the management of older patients via a GP hotline and rapid access assessments for appropriate referrals.
Referrals can be made by clinical teams in the community including GPs or from other clinical teams in the hospital and are all discussed with or triaged by the ACE Consultant.
Patients accepted for review will have a comprehensive holistic geriatric assessment as well as rapid diagnostics if indicated.
Referral criteria
GPs and community teams may discuss patient care and potential referral for patients meeting the following criteria:
- Aged 65 years and over
- Patients with acute/sub-acute medical problems who may not need 24 hour medical and nursing in-patient care
- Complex, frail, and high risk of approaching crisis/requiring admission
- Abnormal blood test
- Any reason indicating a more urgent comprehensive geriatric assessment is needed vs referral to routine elderly care clinic
Clinical lead and Admin
Dr Nima Hashemi - ACE Clinical Lead
ACE admin extension - ext 5337
Dementia
Pioneering dementia work at Croydon Health Services. Watch the powerful and moving video:
Direct Access TIA Clinic
This service provides a direct access clinic for patients with suspected Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA).
Service overview
This clinic is a one-stop shop where patients with suspected TIA can be assessed and treated. Patients with symptoms consistent with a possible TIA will be seen and have as many investigations as possible on the same day. We will also ensure that all risk factors for TIA are investigated and treated on the same day.
Referral criteria
Patients with symptoms consistent with a possible TIA should be referred by their GP's using the open access TIA referral form. This is a walk in clinic and patients should come to us as soon as possible, as the new NICE guidelines state that patients with suspected TIA need to be reviewed by a specialist within 24 hours.
How to refer
Patients should be referred by their GPs using the open access TIA referral form: SWL TIA Joint Referral Form
Monday to Friday 9am-3.30pm (No appointment necessary)
Location Heathfield 1 ward, Croydon University Hospital
Contact details:
Email: ch-tr.Neurologyandec@nhs.net
Telephone: 020 8401 3351
Or send a copy of referral with patient.
For general enquiries:
Telephone: 020 8401 3973
Consultants, Matrons and Senior Allied Health Professionals
Dr Seemin Mahmood - Speciality doctor in stroke medicine
Dr Enas Lawrence - Consultant stroke physician and stroke lead
Dr Jo Bramble - Consultant Stroke Physician
About us
The Falls Service supports older people (65 years and older) and provides individual management plans to reduce the risks of falls and fractures and provides coping strategies following a fall.
Service overview
The service works with a multi-disciplinary team including elderly care physicians, physiotherapists and occupational therapists depending on patients’ individual needs.
We treat
The service offers three components to support older people of Croydon:
Falls clinics:
Consultant-led clinics at Croydon University Hospital and Purley Memorial Hospital aiming to identify the patient’s falls history and risk factors for falls and fractures.
The focus of the Falls clinic is to provide a multi factorial falls risk assessment which covers:
- Falls history
- Assessment of associated presentations with falls including dizziness/vertigo and syncope/ funny turns
- Assessment of gait, balance, mobility and muscle weakness
- Cardiovascular, neurological/cognition examination and medication review
- Bone health.
The Falls therapy team works closely with the falls clinic consultants and provides home assessment and community-based exercise program.
Options of outpatient physiotherapy in conjunction with the Falls Clinic at CUH.
Home-based assessment
Patients can expect physiotherapy and occupational therapy in their own homes. By assessing and treating a patient in their home environment it will reduce the risk of falls.
There are a number of aims and benefits:
- Incorporating falls risk assessment and prevention advice
- Equipment assessment and provision
- Low intensity rehabilitation following a fall
- Home exercise programme to reduce future risk of falling
Bone health clinic
This is a specialist nurse-led clinic as part of the Fracture Clinic at Croydon University Hospital. Screening for osteoporosis is offered for patients who have sustained a fragility fracture.
For general enquiries:
Email: CH-TR.neurologyandec@nhs.net
Or Telephone: 0208 274 6258 or 020 8401 3973
Health Visitors for Older People
The HVOP team visits people in their home and provides a supportive service to vulnerable, frail, isolated older people in order to maintain independence and prevent avoidable hospital admissions.
Treatment
The team works closely with families and carers and each patient is managed on a case-by-case basis at regular multidisciplinary team meetings.
HVOP offer a holistic assessment of a patients needs and provide a gateway to a variety of health and social services to promote independence:
- Falls and accident prevention
- Advice on benefit entitlement, housing options, home safety, social networks, travel etc.
- Health and nutrition support
- Bereavement support
- Carer stress support
The team consists of qualified health visitors, community nurses and is supported by health visitor support workers.
Referral criteria
The service is predominantly for older adults but on occasions will meet the parallel needs of younger adults – for example those with pre-senile dementia, MS and Parkinson’s disease and support for younger adult carers. It does however, by definition, exclude children.
The following criteria have been identified as suitable for referral:
- Identified need – isolated, frail, vulnerable older people – deemed not coping
- Falls and accident prevention – prevention of hospital admission
- Recent bereavement and/or carer stress
- Assessment for equipment to support independence
- Health promotion and/or health education
How to refer
Fax completed referral form and medical summary to:
North locality (Shirley Clinic): 0208 714 2913
South and central locality (Norbury Health Clinic): 020 8662 1325
Referrals are prioritised based on need and an appointment is made with the client for a home visit.
Contact information
Shirley Clinic
135 Shirley Road
Croydon
CR0 7LR
Tel: 020 8714 2800
Fax: 020 8714 2913
Norbury Health Clinic
2B Pollards Hill North
Croydon
SW16 4NL
Tel: 0208 714 2900
Fax: 020 8662 1325
Clinicians
Contact Us
Please phone 020 8401 3973 or email CH.TR-neurologyandec@nhs.net
Dr Alan Earnshaw
Consultant Elderly Care
Dr Christopher Bell
Consultant Physician / Community Geriatrician
Dr Joanne Bramble
Consultant Physician
Dr Joseph Rehman
Consultant Elderly Care
Dr Elizabeth Heitz
Consultant
Dr Nima Hashemi
Consultant Elderly Care
Dr Amanda Humphreys
Consultant Elderly Care
Dr Karen Kee
Consultant Elderly Care and Stroke Medicine
Dr Enas Lawrence
Consultant Elderly Care and Stroke Medicine
Dr Anand Mehta
Consultant Physician in Elderly Care
Dr Prithiva Navan Eetha Rajah
Consultant
Dr Wallace Tan
Consultant Elderly Care