Employer: Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Union House
Town: Torquay
Salary: £46,148 - £52,809 pa pro rata
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 07/04/2025 23:59
Falls Prevention Therapy Lead - Community
NHS AfC: Band 7
Job overview
Working as part of the Trust Falls Prevention Team, to deliver falls prevention across the community, and partner agencies (e.g. SWASFT, primary care, care homes and care agencies) for adult fallers, implementing all aspects of best practice to prevent falls and reduce the impact of harm and injury when a fall occurs. Linking policies and pathways across the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust (TSDFT) to enhance integrated care.
Work alongside clinical teams, patient representatives and external partners to support them with expert falls knowledge, lead falls initiatives and progress work inline with national initiatives, guidance, improvement plans and learning from incidents.
A highly visible and proactive leader acting as a clinical resource ensuring staff are competent, trained and up to date with the most up to date falls prevention evidence base and that patients and carers, along with the general public are informed on falls prevention and have access to information to support them to live healthy independent lives in their home of choice.
Advise on relevant policies and workstreams where complex issues that relate to falls and falls prevention are involved and to support community staff on specific falls problems with patients who have complex presentations.
Main duties of the job
You will provide education on falls prevention across Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust (TSDFT) specifically but not exclusively, 65 years and above as well as those aged 50 plus with long-term conditions; with the emphasis on community staff and the Trust’s partners. Devise and review teaching methods and review feedback.
You will co-lead on national audits relating to falls prevention, maintain the database of falls data and report to Falls Improvement Steering Group (FISG) governance and relevant other meetings. Oversee, advise and escalate any required action plans for clinical areas that require improvement on falls prevention.
You will support and co-chair bi-monthly FISG and disseminate outcomes via minutes, action log and falls newsletter. Support investigations as part of the team involved in incident reporting for falls at moderate and above harm. As a subject matter expert to review incidents and action plans, advise on these and share learning.
Review falls dashboard (Tableau) each month looking at trends. Link with Quality Assurance Team where care home residents have complex presentations and falls prevention is proving challenging. This will involve oversight of the Paris falls register (Torbay only).
Co-manage the postural stability strength and balance service in conjunction with the Public Health and Personalised Care Manager.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Plan and champion system wide falls prevention strategy for the community teams along with the Trust’s partners. Devise and promote initiatives including training for falls prevention with partner organisations.
Demonstrate clear, clinical, professional leadership and direction to the Allied Health professionals and nurses across the Trust, particularly in the community, working with those who are at risk of falls and falling; as a positive role model, influencing others through professional attitudes and behaviours in line with the Trust’s values.
Act as an ambassador for patients who are at risk of falling/falls ensuring that the service reflects their needs and those who care for them. Manage volunteers within the falls prevention service.
Co-Chair and manage the FPSG, bi-monthly, and disseminate learning through the falls newsletter and through the governance structure of the Trust.
Work as an autonomous practitioner as a falls expert advising in risk assessments and interventions, along with incident review and learning. Responsible for writing and maintaining falls prevention policies, protocols and SOPs, also inputting to other relevant Trust documents when appropriate to do so.
Lead falls prevention campaigns including falls awareness week and winter messages, in conjunction with the falls lead for the acute, FPSG and practice educators. Training – Compile, review and update fall prevention training for the staff across the ICO including induction, formal training, webinars, videos, etc. Train community staff and partner organisations, including informal carers, where relevant, on falls prevention and post fall training.
Give advice and signpost if contacted by patients or family members. Ensure relevant Family and Friends feedback of services where appropriate. Lead on the development of efficient and effective pathways for patients at risk of falls.
Provide professional support to clinical teams, delivering evidence based expert falls prevention advice that supports the provision of effective care to patients, reducing the risk of falls and risk of suffering harm as a result of a fall.
Co-manage the postural stability strength and balance service (FaME Falls exercise management programme) with the Public Health and Personalised Care Manager. Including regular Postural Stability Strength and Balance meetings, governance, recruitment, service development and arranging professional development for the instructors every 3 years.
Develop, review and update falls risk assessments and intervention documents as part of the Trust’s documents for example: the Care and Risk assessment booklet/MFFA/electronic patient record (EPR). Review the MFFA - Multi-factorial falls assessment for the community in line with service capacity, new evidence base and changes in care pathways with particular reference to the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) to avoid duplication and develop falls risk assessment on the EPR.
Work to support teams maintaining people in their own homes as independently and safely as possible as they age thereby reducing hospital conveyance, unnecessary hospital admissions and the impact this has on frail older people.
Person specification
Qualifications
* AHP or Nursing Degree level
* Evidence of continued professional development
* Teaching qualification or equivalent in experience
* Care of the older adult qualification or equivalent in experience
* To have or be working towards, Masters level modules/degree
* Postural Stability Instructor or equivalent qualification in older people’s evidence base exercise to reduce falls and harm from falls (FaME/Otago)
Knowledge
* Experience of working with older people to develop services and implement ‘what matters to them’ when developing services
* Previous experience of working autonomously at an advanced level delivering effective prevention and patient/service user care
* QI experience of leadership and successfully managing change including changes that involved staff at senior level
* Significant knowledge of current falls priorities, policies and developments in falls including RCoP and NICE recommendations.
* Awareness of governance and safety/quality requirements and evidence of involvement in serious incidents and learning from these
* Resource management- planning and budgets
* Experience of audit, research and evidence based care and how to integrate this learning into practice.
* Wide ranging experience of developing training initiatives to support all levels of staff
* Effectively communicate, collaborate and negotiate with the multi-disciplinary teams at all levels within the organisation, with key stakeholders and external agencies
* Manage own workload with competing priorities
You will be joining the organisation at an exciting time. As the first fully integrated care organisation in England, we are working to improve the way we deliver safe, high-quality health and social care. We have a positive and vibrant working atmosphere, we are proud of our investment in our staff both in terms of developing potential career skills and valuing people.
If you provide support to a family member or friend with health or care needs, we aim to be a Carer-friendly employer. We have a ‘Staff Carers’ policy which includes flexible working where possible and a Carer’s Passport scheme that links you into support and discounts.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
* We reserve the right to close vacancies early if we receive a high volume of applications. Therefore, we encourage you to apply promptly.
* Please read the job description carefully and tailor your application to reflect the requirements of the role.
* Applicants who identify in their application form they are a part of the Armed Forces community will be guaranteed an interview, provided they meet the minimum essential criteria outlined in the job description and person specification for the role. Step into Health guidance can be found on our NHS Employers website.
* Correspondence will be sent via Trac, text, and email. Please ensure you check your email and Trac account regularly.
* Applicants with no previous NHS experience will ordinarily be appointed to the minimum of the band.
* If you have not received an invitation to interview within 28 days of the closing date, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
* It is your responsibility to ensure the timely receipt of appropriate references.
The Trust is committed to preventing discrimination, valuing diversity and achieving equality of opportunity. No person (staff, patient or public) will receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of the nine protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. If you require support you can obtain this from our Equality Business Forum which has representatives from all protected groups.
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This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
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