Greater Manchester’s Falls Pick-Up Service lifts hundreds back to safety over winter

The NHS Falls Pick-Up Service helped hundreds of people across Greater Manchester this winter, preventing hospital admissions and reducing pressure on emergency services.

The scheme — which ran from November 2024 to March 2025, supporting the winter period — was available to anyone over 18 who had fallen at home and wasn’t injured but couldn’t stand up on their own. In conjunction with Greater Manchester Urgent Primary Care Alliance, this unique service helped 278 people get back on their feet.

When a 999 call was made, trained operators assessed whether a Falls Pick-Up Responder, rather than an ambulance, would be the most appropriate support. If the person needed urgent medical attention, the responder would call for emergency support. By responding quickly and preventing unnecessary ambulance callouts, the service helped ease pressure on busy NHS teams and ensured people got the right care, at the right time, in their own homes.

Care and advice

The Falls Pick-Up team did more than just help people stand up, they provided care and reassurance. Every visit included:

• Safe assistance – to help the person up without causing further harm.
• A wellbeing check – to make sure they’re feeling okay.
• Help calling a family member, friend, or carer if needed.
• A quick home check to spot any trip hazards like loose rugs or poor lighting.
• Advice on next steps, whether that’s a visit to their GP, a falls prevention service, or a home safety assessment.

By acting fast, the team prevented people from spending long periods on the floor, which can lead to dehydration, pressure sores, hypothermia, and other serious health risks.

Making a real difference

This winter service has helped free up ambulances for life threatening emergencies, which meant people who needed urgent medical help weren’t waiting for longer than necessary.

The service also reduced the number of ambulances called out for non-injured falls. It reduced unnecessary hospital visits, keeping beds free for those who need them most and sped up response times, making sure people were not left waiting for help.

Due to its success, the service was also expanded to support care homes, healthcare professionals and carers who were with someone who had fallen at home.

“The no-injury falls service created great benefits for patients and the ambulance service in Greater Manchester. Patients received a timely response when they could otherwise wait longer for our crews to arrive, reducing the need for an ambulance to attend unnecessarily and keeping them available for our sickest patients.”

Rob Wood, Clinical Hub Manager for the North West Ambulance Service.

Falls are one of the biggest causes of emergency hospital admissions, costing the NHS £2bn a year.

• One in three people over 65 and one in two people over 80 fall at least once a year.
• Falls are the biggest reason older adults are admitted to hospital.
• Increasingly, more falls are being mentioned in preventable death reports.

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