A new way of working
Linda Horan explains how , due to the reinvention of services during the pandemic , the multidisciplinary falls clinic at Guys Hospital had to find an alternative pathway that reduced risk and maintained quality of care
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OVID-19 has undoubtedly impacted every aspect of the contemporary world . However , there has been no transformation as rapid as the one in the field of healthcare .
In the first instance , it was necessary to free up sufficient capacity to cope with the initial peak of the pandemic , which meant shutting down or remarkably reducing many areas of non-COVID care .
Subsequently , services needed to be reinvented , ensuring quality care was provided , yet face-to-face contact was minimised ( BMA 2020 ).
Older adults are at greater risk of developing severe illness and of mortality if infected with COVID-19 ( ONS and PHE 2021 ). The physiological changes associated with ageing , multi-morbid physical and / or mental health conditions , and smaller social networks , expose older adults to be more susceptible to the infection itself ( WHO 2020 ).
Consequently , it was recommended that this patient cohort in particular adhere to strict social distancing measures to minimise the risk of infection .
In a pre-pandemic world , falling was the leading cause of injury-related admissions to hospital in older adults and cost the NHS an estimated £ 2.3 billion a year ( NICE 2013 ).
However , evidence suggests that falls in older people can be prevented with appropriate and timely intervention ( Lovarini et al 2013 ).
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ( NICE ) ( 2013 ) recommends a multifactorial intervention or prevention strategy ,
20 OTnews April 2022