What is the Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge Falls Service?

We are multidisciplinary team working across the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge. The team consists of a Falls Consultant, Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist, Nurse, Falls Practitioner, Integrated Care Assistants and Administrators.

Who do we serve?

We assess and treat people who are over the age of 50 (unless medically proven at risk of falls), residents of BHR and those who have three or more of the following:

• Slip/trip/fall or near slip/trip/fall in the previous year
• 5 medications or more
• Have balance problems
• Unable to rise from a chair of knee height 

What is our aim?

• To prevent onset of trips/slips and falls
• Reduce the number of slips/trips/falls or near miss slips/trips and falls
• Reduce hospital and A&E admissions
• To minimise patient’s fear of falling and build confidence to achieve independence and quality of life
• Educate patients and carers on coping strategies 

Who is involved?

Falls Medical Consultant

Provides routine medical reviews and optimises patients’ medication to avoid falls. The consultant also looks for cardiovascular and neurological causes of falls and advises the GP on how to proceed.

Falls Clinic Nurse

Provides assessment of nutrition, continence, foot health, medication issues and carries out routine medical tests. The nurse also provides health care advice and assists the Falls Medical Consultant in the clinic. 

Falls Practitioner

Identifies individuals at risk of falling by assessing level of individual needs with regards to risks of falls.

Physiotherapist

Strength and balance classes — virtual and face to face classes. Provides assessement of a person's strength, balance, gait and mobility and teaches exercises, issues mobility aids as needed, and other strategies to decrease the risk of falls or serious injuries. 

Occupational Therapist

Provides detailed assessment of the person’s home to identify risk factors relating to falls. The Occupational Therapist will offer advice and suggest home modifications as well as providing equipment to minimise any risks. 

Integrated Care Assistants

Provides assistance in the Falls Clinic and to other health professionals including home visits, and ensuring safe use of equipment. 

Who can refer?

• Self referral
• General Practitioners
• Consultants
• Community matrons
• A&E staff
• Community therapy teams
• Specialist Nurses
• District Nurses
• Health Visitors
• Allied Health Care Professionals
• Social Services
• Voluntary Organisations 

How do you refer?

GP Referrals (EMIS Practices)

If you are a GP using EMIS, please submit all new routine referrals to this service via Elemental. This is now the standard referral route into NELFT for EMIS practices and replaces the previous email-based process.

Urgent referrals: If you need to make an urgent referral, please continue to use the existing urgent referral pathways and contact the service directly where required. Elemental should not be used for urgent referrals.

This change applies to GP practices using EMIS. Alternative referral routes remain available for practices using other clinical systems.

Other referrals — please complete a Referral Form (SPA) and forward to the Single Point of Access Team (SPA) at nelft.haveringreferrals@nelft.nhs.uk.

Alternatively please contact the team on: 

• Tel: 0300 300 1851 — Option 1 for BHR Falls Service, Option 2 for BHR Falls Practioner Service.
• BHRFallsservice@nelft.nhs.uk – this email address only accepts enquiries, not referrals.