A-Z of Services
Falls Service - Purley
- Service Manager Lead: Dr Wallace
- Service Contact: 020 8274 6258
- Address: Purley War Memorial Hospital 856 Brighton Rd, Purley, CR8 2YL
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
How to refer
All GP referrals should be made via eRS. Please see this link for a full description and referral information.
Refer via e-Referrals. More information about e-Referrals is available here.
Referral criteria
According to NICE guidelines for falls, ‘Older people who present for medical attention because of a fall, or report recurrent falls in the past year, or demonstrate abnormalities of gait and/or balance should be offered a multifactorial falls risk assessment. This assessment should be performed by healthcare professionals with appropriate skills and experience, normally in the setting of a specialist falls service. This assessment should be part of an individualised, multifactorial intervention.’
The falls service referral criteria comply with the NICE guidelines.
- The patient MUST be 65 years and above with more than two falls within the last 12 months.
- Or the patient has had one episode of fall that has led to a hospital admission/ injuries and new or worsening gait/ balance deficits.
- Or there are unexplained falls with apparent complex medical cause or loss of consciousness.
For urgent referral please consider referral to Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) Service.
Management Team
Consultants, Matrons and Senior Allied Health Professionals
Dr Wallace Tan Geriatrician and Falls Lead
Dr Joanne Bramble Geriatrician
Dr Nima Hashemi Geriatrician
Dr Liz Heitz Community Geriatrics and Intermediate Care
Dr Chris Bell Community Geriatrics and Intermediate Care
Dr Susan Morgan Associate Specialist Elderly Care (ACE and HARU)
Paul Ashton Senior Physiotherapist ACE and HARU
Prabu Athisayanathan Senior Falls Physiotherapist
Elizabeth Pope Senior Falls Occupational Therapist
Elaine Li Falls and Bone Health Specialist Nurse