Online clinic to support the frail
NEW virtual clinics are being set up to reduce the risk of falls among people living in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.
Physiotherapists in Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, who launched the ‘Stay Steady’ virtual clinics last week, claim the service will provide support to those who are worried about falling or are unsteady on their feet.
The team will be on hand to assess a person’s risk of falling and recommend actions to take.
The clinic is delivered virtually by phone or video consultation and is therefore accessible to people while they are in their own home.
A therapist will run through a detailed assessment with each caller in an attempt to establish the likelihood of them falling, and will recommend the best course of action, along with some exercises to reduce the chance of it occurring.
The clinics ultimately aim to support individuals in feeling more confident in doing day-today activities and keep them independent.
Each caller will be given an action plan which could include online exercise classes or following written exercise guides at home, as well as falls prevention advice. A follow-up call will be booked in after each appointment to see how individuals are getting on.
Kirsty Jones, senior physiotherapist at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said: “Stay Steady clinics have been running in Cardiff across various community settings for nearly two years now.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic we are unable to continue with our face-to-face clinics, so we have worked really hard to ensure that we can now deliver these clinics virtually.
“Anyone can have a fall, but older people are more vulnerable and likely to fall. There can sometimes be a generational stoicism and acceptance that falling is part of growing older, but falls should absolutely not be seen as a normal part of ageing.
“A lot of falls are preventable and through this service we can empower individuals to be aware of a range of risk factors which could cause somebody to fall – these could be as simple as sensible footwear or common trip hazards around the home.
“Each individual is assessed by a falls specialist physiotherapist who will provide an individual plan with a range of actions that can be taken to reduce the risk of falling.
“We aim to empower individuals and give them skills before they find themselves in a crisis situation. Self-confidence can be hugely affected following a fall so we would recommend that individuals self-refer to our virtual clinics where we can provide a free personalised service and a programme of advice with simple strength-building exercises that can be done at home.”
■ People can access the service by phoning 029 2183 2552 or emailing staysteady.cardiff@ wales.nhs.uk to arrange an appointment with a physiotherapist.