Patient and family experience of calling for an ambulance when somebody has fallen has helped Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Integrated Care System when they were planning a pilot project to look at different ways of helping patients who have fallen in their homes. Healthwatch Shropshire and Healthwatch Telford & Wrekin, the local health and care champions, collected experiences and shared them with the local NHS and councils.

NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council have been working together with local Partners to develop a pilot programme to support people across the county who are at risk of falls or have fallen and need a responsive service.

Lynn Cawley, Healthwatch Shropshire Chief Officer, said, “We would like to thank everybody who shared their experiences of calling for an ambulance. When we hear experiences we share them with the people in charge of providing services. This ensures that the patient voice is at the centre of service developments and makes a difference. We are delighted to hear about this project, it is a great example of the cooperation and hard work that is being carried out to try and address the pressures on health and social care in this area.”

Vanessa Whatley, Director of Quality and Safety at NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, said: “Every month, around 850 people who have fallen in Shropshire are taken to hospital by ambulance, but not all of these people need to be admitted.

“I am proud to have been involved in this new Falls Emergency Service Pilot Project, working closely with community partners to make a positive difference.

“The pilot programme supports people who have fallen by providing a first response service, following a call to 999, to get them up from where they have fallen and ensure they are safe and well. They can then be assessed by the community urgent care team. Further support available through the programme also includes short periods of domiciliary care, if needed, to help with daily activities in the patient’s home, as well as an opportunity to attend a separate programme to improve stability and reduce falls.

“The pilot also aims to increase the number of people accessing falls prevention programmes, therefore improving the overall health and wellbeing of individuals and giving them the confidence to live their best lives. 

“We have seen good results so far and I look forward to seeing this continued.”   

The patient experience report, Calling for an ambulance in an emergency, can be found here, https://www.healthwatchshropshire.co.uk/report/2023-01-24/calling-ambulance-emergency

Healthwatch Shropshire is the independent health and social care champion in Shropshire. It gathers the views and experiences of patients, service users, carers, and the general public about services including hospitals, GPs, mental health services, community health services, pharmacists, opticians, residential care and children’s services.  It also has statutory powers that it can use to influence service provision by encouraging improvements.