Falls Prevention Service is a multidisciplinary assessment service that includes the Falls and Fracture Prevention clinic. It aims to investigate and reduce falls and fall related injuries in community dwelling clients at high risk of falls.
Clients are usually offered an initial comprehensive home based fall risk assessment by an allied health practitioner (PT/OT/DT) followed by specialist assessment by a Geriatrician and Physiotherapist at TMC. A Falls and Fracture Prevention care plan is developed in collaboration with the client and/ or carers and client is linked with internal and external programs / providers for intervention as indicated.
Referral Process
Referral should be addressed to Falls Prevention Service. The GP Referral Template located within the Master care Referral net system is the preferred referral tool.
For faxed referrals: FAX 9125 9846
Categories for Appointment
| Clinical Description | Estimated Wait Time | |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1 | Clients that have falls with an unclear or unknown cause | 30 days |
| Category 2 | Clients that have falls due to known risk factors (those are having falls with harm will be prioritised over others) | Variable – can be up to 4 months |
| Emergency | When signs and symptoms require emergency management | To Emergency Department |
Eligibility Criteria
Community dwelling clients aged 16 years or over that are at high falls risk as indicated by:
2 or more falls in the last year
Or one fall in the last year with any of the following:
- an injury requiring medical attention (fracture /head injury /laceration)
- loss of consciousness/fainting
- a long lie on floor, for over an hour
- requiring assistance with activities of daily living like personal care / meal preparation / house work – cleaning, laundry etc. (Frailty)
Exclusion Criteria
- Residents of Aged care facilities
- Clients under 16 years of age
- Clients that have not had any falls in the last 12 months
Related Services
Movement Disorders Program – for clients with a diagnosis of movement disorders requiring falls prevention.
Community Rehabilitation Program – for clients that have had a recent decline in function from their fall(s) and are requiring a goal oriented rehabilitation/exercise/therapy program
Other ACCESS services:
Community Health or Outreach Program – for clients with long term decline in function and deconditioning & requiring physiotherapy/occupational therapy interventions
Community Care Program – for clients at high risk of recurrent hospital admissions due to high risk of falls and fall related injury that need input from a multidisciplinary team.
Age Strong Program – for clients that need a group based exercise program to reduce fall risk.
Further information for GPs:
This is an assessment service. If the client requires ongoing therapy or interventions, he/she needs concurrent referral to an intervention program. Please call ACCESS unit on 1300 665 781 for information regarding the most appropriate program.
Make a referral
Please note, referral cannot be processed if minimum information is missing
Referral: Date of referral, addressed to Falls Prevention Service, Referring practitioner, Provider Number, Referrer’s signature
Patient Demographic: Full name, Date of birth, Postal address, Contact numbers, Medicare Number, Interpreter required
Clinical:
- Reason for referral
- Falls History – including onset, no of falls in the last 12 months, mechanism/circumstances of last 3 falls e.g. syncope/trip/slip/loss of balance/dizziness etc., injuries sustained from the falls, history of long lie if any
- Management to date
- Past medical history
- Current medications
- Allergies
- Social History and Level of function
Diagnostics:
- Results of last Bone Density Scan
- Results of recent cardiac investigations within last 12 months – Echocardiogram/Holter Monitor/Ambulatory Blood Pressure monitoring/ECG
- Results of relevant blood tests within the last 6 months – Full blood count, Urea, creatinine, electrolytes, Magnesium, Calcium, Haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), Thyroid function tests, Liver function tests, Vitamin B12, folate.
- Results of recent neurological investigations within the last 12 months – MRI – Brain/Spine, Nerve conduction studies