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The Welsh Ambulance Service has launched a new initiative to speed up care for people who have fallen, amid soaring demand for help with falls across Wales.
More than 46,300 people have called 999 after falling since January, making it the number one reason for ambulance calls this year. Breathing problems (38,527) and chest pain (30,142) followed as the next most common categories.
In response, the trust has set up a dedicated Falls Desk in its emergency control room, aimed at getting rapid, tailored support to patients on the floor before complications develop.
Pete Brown, Assistant Director of Operations (Integrated Care), said quicker intervention was essential: “When someone has a fall, it’s really important we get to them quickly or complications can start to develop within a few hours if they’re still on the floor,” he said. “In the past, fallers have waited far longer for help than any of us would like… the Falls Desk is a first for us.”
Brown said the new service builds on the Trust’s growing focus on remote care. “By drawing upon the skills of our fantastic remote care clinicians, we aim to get fallers the right help quickly,” he added. “Treating more people closer to home also takes the pressure off Emergency Departments, so this is about playing our part to support the wider health system too.”
Funded by Welsh Government, the Falls Desk operates daily from 8am to 8pm, the period when most falls occur. Each shift pairs a resource coordinator with a paramedic or nurse, who together organise the dispatch of an appropriate falls responder. Responders can include ambulance service volunteers, trained firefighters, or members of St John Ambulance Cymru’s Falls Response Service.
Before a responder arrives, a clinician will contact the patient to assess injuries, offer advice, and—where safe—help them get up from the floor. Once on scene, the responder works with the remote clinician by phone or video to determine whether the patient can be safely supported at home or needs further intervention from other ambulance or health board teams.
Ben Scott, Falls Clinical Lead, said the service was designed to intervene quickly and minimise the harm that can come from prolonged time on the floor. “Anyone can have a fall, but as we age, our chances increase and our ability to get up independently reduce,” he said. “Getting up off the floor as soon as possible, where it’s safe to do so, is the key to avoiding harm.”
Scott added that although most falls are not medically serious, they can have a lasting emotional impact: “They can cause a person to lose their confidence, become withdrawn and feel as if they have lost their independence,” he said. “Improving the way we care for fallers is a top priority, but prevention starts at home, and taking a few simple steps can help prevent a fall in the first place.”
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