BGS response to NHS England winter resilience plan

NHS England have published a winter resilience plan, outlining measures to be taken to reduce hospital admissions and ambulance callouts this winter.

This includes plans for rapid response falls services, aiming to attend more quickly to people who have fallen and reduce their need to go to hospital.

President of the British Geriatrics Society, Dr Jennifer Burns, commented:

With winter fast approaching, the BGS welcomes this focus from NHS England on ensuring that the health service is equipped to cope with expected increasing pressures. It is particularly heartening to see plans in place to quickly attend to older people who have experienced a fall and to reduce the number of them admitted to hospital as a result. The benefits of treatment in hospital have to be offset against possible harms for older people such as the risk of infection and deconditioning. Many people who have fallen can be safely managed in their own homes, provided they receive appropriate help quickly.

Community-based rapid response services for people who have fallen have the potential to reduce unnecessary ambulance callouts and help older people to get back on their feet sooner. However, it is important that such services are properly resourced and integrated with existing services, such as falls prevention and anticipatory care, rather than being a standalone service that is no longer funded once winter pressures ease.”

You can read the full NHS England winter resilience plan here.