A falls prevention exercise programme in a primary care trust

The Falls Exercise Prevention Programme for older people was introduced as a new project for North Bradford Primary Care Trust in 2002. The introduction of this new service was in response to an identified need to help reduce the incidence of falls, reduce serious injuries as a result of falling, and help improve and maintain the quality of life for those older people who had been identified as having had a fall or being at high risk of falling. The service was not established to be a front line service but to be incorporated into the falls referral pathway. The exercises undertaken are all evidence based and proven to be effective with this population. However, the Group promotes other aspects of quality of life for older people and promotes a holistic approach including health promotion and education. The group has now expanded to incorporate a ‘Walking for Health’ project; a ‘Walk From Home’ project and a ‘Buddy‐Up’ system. The Group is continually growing and future plans are to incorporate ‘Walks for Fallers’. Evaluation of the service provides information to continually improve and extend the services on offer.