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A trial of a community-based healthcare clinic has helped more than 40 local patients in North Birmingham to reduce their risk of future falls, avoid hospital appointment waits and remain living independently by providing the equipment they need to move around safely.

The North Locality Specialist Falls Assessment Clinic was held at the United Reformed Church in Sutton Coldfield in February. The event brought together a unique collaboration of NHS clinical experts and voluntary sector partners.
 
Patients from Good Hope Hospital and Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHC) falls waiting lists and Age Concern patients were invited to attend the clinic with the aim of providing them with more immediate intervention.

Attendees underwent "multifactorial" assessments, which included falls assessments, blood pressure monitoring, bone health, dietetics and foot health advice. A highlight of the clinic was the use of GaitSmart technology — an AI driven gait, balance and functional intervention which analyses how patients mobilise and identifies subtle movement imbalances that often lead to trips and falls.

Organisations involved included Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council, the BCHC Falls Team, Good Hope Hospital Falls team, Sutton Coldfield Group Practice and Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Service Pharmacy team.

Other specialist partners included Age Concern Birmingham, The Alzheimer’s Society, Purposeful Active Living, West Midlands Fire Service, Dementia Advice and Support, Our Place Support and Sutton Coldfield Neighbourhood Network Scheme.

One patient who benefitted from attending the clinic was 92-year-old Bernadette McCann. The team provided Bernadette and her son Anthony with as much information as possible to help maintain her mobility and reduce the risk of falls in the future. This included Bernadette completing exercises in the education session and gaining as much advice from the professional colleagues in the main hall regarding blood pressure, bone health, diet and footwear. She also undertook a GaitSmart assessment and was provided with a bespoke exercise programme to help improve her mobility.

Julie Hunter, Group Director for Allied Health Professionals at University Hospitals Birmingham, Hospital Director for AHPs at Good Hope Hospital and the organiser of the event, said: “It was truly inspiring to see Bernadette mobilising with a wheeled Zimmer frame and another patient walking more confidently. This captured what the event was about - a one stop model, providing as much care as possible in one location. It was wonderful to see so many teams working in collaboration and achieving so much for the patients”

“Early evaluation of the clinic identifies that we have been able to discharge some patients from our hospital waiting lists entirely. We anticipate that other patients will now have a reduced number of follow-up appointments, as they can request care based on their specific needs rather than attending routine scheduled slots.”

The multi-partner approach to the clinic enabled patients to see multiple specialists within the same session helping them to avoid lengthy onward referral wait times for services such as dietetics, orthotics and adult musculo-skeletal (MSK) outpatient clinics.
 
This integrated health and care approach for local people is part of the Birmingham and Solihull Community Care Collaborative programme of work. Led by BCHC, it aims to work with local health and care partners to provide better joined up health and care services in local neighbourhoods across Birmingham and Solihull.

Chris Holt, Chief Transformation Officer at BCHC, added: “This is a prime example of shifting care from hospitals back into the community. Getting multiple health and voluntary partners to work as one team benefits the patient 100%. As the early outcomes of this clinic show, this type of event can also remove the need for some patients to attend hospital at all. The presence of the voluntary sector also increased patient awareness of local venues and groups which can support them to maintain their health both mentally and physically. It really was a win-win event for all concerned.” 

Olive O’Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer at Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council, said: “Royal Sutton Coldfield Town Council was pleased to partner with Good Hope Hospital and Birmingham Community Healthcare Trust on the Community Appointment Day.

"A key priority of the Town Council is to work with partners and local community groups to improve the health and wellbeing and quality of life for older adults in the town, enabling them to stay active and independent. Community Appointment Days do just this, providing residents with access to a variety of health professionals, specialist interventions and the support that is offered by the town’s voluntary and community sector. The Town Council is also supporting two further Community Appointment Days, partnering with respiratory and stroke and neuro services at Good Hope Hospital. 

“This work builds on a Healthy Ageing project, led by the Town Council, which aims to prevent falls and support residents to remain independent in their own homes. All of these activities contribute to the development of the offer at the Sutton Cottage Hospital, which is being transformed into a one-stop community health hub for older adults.” 

Partners are evaluating the model for a wider roll-out across the region to further mitigate the risk of falls for older residents.

The Good Hope Hospital Therapy team has built on the Community Appointment Day events initially introduced as part of adult (MSK) pathway to achieve waiting well management, and has cascaded this work across many pathways for the benefit of patients in collaboration with other service providers such as MSK, pulmonary rehabilitation and stroke.