Falls training provided to Community First Responder groups

This week is Falls Awareness Week and in 2021, NHS Charities Together awarded £508,689 to the East of England Ambulance Service Charity to enhance the role of volunteer Community First Responder (CFR) groups. This included providing falls training and equipment, such as raizer chairs, slide sheets and handling belts.

Below is a recent story from one of our amazing CFR volunteers in Ipswich where, thanks to the funded training, they were able to provide rapid care and support.

“A couple of weeks ago I was part of a double crew on the Ipswich CFR car. We were tasked to a fall outdoors. We arrived within a few minutes and found an elderly lady laying in a rose bush in her own garden. After examination we suspected that the lady had broken her collar bone but otherwise she appeared well.

As there was an injury, the incident fell outside our remit to lift autonomously. We contacted the Clinical Advice Line and spoke to a clinician, who after careful questioning felt it to be in the patient's best interest for us to carefully lift her.

It was great to get her out of that rose bush without delay. We checked her over again and assisted her into a relative's car. She was in A&E before an ambulance would have been able to attend due to the high demand that evening.

We made a referral to the falls team, as she had fallen before, and they can now follow up to see if further falls prevention action is required.

The generous grant has supported:

	Delivering 23 falls training courses via face-to-face learning and Microsoft Teams. With additional courses scheduled across the region to upskill more CFRs.
	Funding an additional CFR trainer, now in post, to aid delivery of falls training courses.
	Upskilling 165 CFRs with falls training and how to use the equipment.
	Funding six roving volunteer CFR cars in Colchester, Ipswich, Waveney, King’s Lynn, Luton and Cambridge. Falls related calls currently are 13% of the roving cars activity.

 

Lorna Hayes, Head of Community Response, said:

“It is wonderful to see how the grant provided is supporting our Community First Responders to develop their role in their communities and enhance the care of vulnerable patients, especially those who have fallen. It has already made a vital difference to patients and will continue to do so.”

If you are interested in training to become a falls capable CFR, please contact your CRM via your co-ordinator.

Published 21st September 2023