Case Study: Working with emergency services to help residents stay safe at home and reduce ambulance pressures

During the early hours of the morning, the monitoring centre was alerted to a bed sensor activation after 30 minutes of inactivity from a client. The response team were dispatched immediately to attend and arrived at the client’s house within 15 minutes, to find the 99-year-old woman on her bedroom floor unable to get up.

After completing an *ISTUMBLE assessment and taking clinical observations, they were able to lift her safely from the floor. The responders helped her back to bed and made sure she had her lifeline to hand in case she needed any further assistance. The lady declined an ambulance.

The following morning the response team carried out a follow-up phone call and were concerned that the lady was complaining of aches and pains, so her GP was notified of the fall and a home visit was arranged. The GP recommended the client attend the hospital for further examination to check her over after the fall and contacted the Welsh Ambulance Service to arrange an ambulance.

Working closely together, the ambulance service arranged transport with Delta Wellbeing to take the client to the hospital and when she was ready to leave, they contacted Delta Wellbeing to take her home.

The response team helped the client to return home safely, made her comfortable and ensured that her lifeline was in hand, should she need any further assistance. Over the following seven days, a combination of welfare visits and telephone calls were arranged to ensure that she was coping well following her fall.

*ISTUMBLE is a post-fall assessment tool that is used to carry out a health assessment.