Abstract
University Hospital Plymouth (UHP) provides secondary care to 475,000 people with a wider population of almost 2,000,000 people who can access its specialist services.
COVID pandemic had a significant impact of the outpatient list within the UHP NHS Trust and demonstrated that previously well-established model of Falls clinic was no longer fit for purpose. This resulted in a significant delay in waiting times for patients awaiting a specialist review.
A new model was designed to address issues and reduce waiting times for patients with Falls in the catchment area. The Pilot Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) Falls Clinic was introduced in July 2022 where patients are seen by a Falls Specialist Nurse, Advanced Pharmacist and Advanced Physiotherapist on the same day. All patients then are discussed at weekly virtual MDT meeting with Consultant Geriatrician where a decision is made whether patient could be discharged back to the Primary Care.
117 out of 149 patients have been booked into clinic. Only 57 patients (47%) were referred forward to the 1st Medical clinic. Out of 57 patients 31 have been seen and 10 were discharged back to GP following clinic attendance.
60 patients (51%) were discharged following review at the Pilot MDT Falls Clinic. 7 patients were re-admitted within the next 6 months after been discharged from the Pilot MDT Falls clinic. However, none of the admissions were related to Falls.
The waiting times were reduced by 4 months.
Funding was secured to run the clinic for the 12 months and the next step is to expand the team by employing another Advanced Pharmacist and Physiotherapist. The Pilot MDT Falls clinic demonstrated that a new approach is beneficial to patients. It also supports development of the skills for all team members though sharing expertise, knowledge and skills, and building team rapport.