A SCHEME developed in the North-East is preventing falls across the country.

In 2005, the North-East Ambulance Service began looking at new ways to manage the increasing number of people being treated for falls.

While front-line ambulances focus on patients with life-threatening injuries or illness, many of the 999 calls received by NEAS were regarding people who had fallen over.

Ambulance chiefs realised that if patients who had fallen and were likely to be at risk of falling again could be identified early, and measures put in place before an accident, the number of fallrelated 999 calls should be reduced, freeing more ambulances for emergency calls.

The service approached falls specialists from Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for advice. At the time, the ambulance service was attending hundreds of falls cases a month, with crews spending up to 50 minutes per 999 call-out.

Several years later, that is no longer the case. The ambulance service and its partners across the North-East have set up a falls network that can identify, refer and support people who might be a potential fall patient.

The ambulance service now has a referral mechanism that crews use when they attend an incident where someone has fallen.

It allows front-line crews to send details of the event to falls services for support. The information is shared with health and social care agencies that come into contact with patients at risk of falling.

Now, if a pensioner falls at home and breaks a bone, someone from the NHS or council will evaluate their home and see how fall-proof they can make it.

It could involve installing handrails and stairlifts or ensuring someone visits regularly to help with household tasks that could cause another fall.

The changes have led to a huge decline in ambulance call-outs to fallers in the region.

Patients who have an injury or illness that affects their balance, vision or mobility are also referred to the falls register.

So far, three London boroughs are adopting the scheme, which has also been showcased at national NHS events.