The initiative commenced in November 2011 in Northamptonshire and an independent evaluation (Campbell 2013) assessed its performance for 12 months.
During this time CRFT intervention reduced hospital admissions either by avoiding conveyance to A&E or by facilitating discharge directly from A&E, in 1,206 cases. 156 of these patients were later admitted to hospital, giving an estimated 1,050 avoided admissions in the county (Campbell et al 2013).
During the evaluation period the social care team received a total of 1,546 referrals. 85% of these referrals were accepted by the service. Over 40% of social care referrals originated from the CRFT falls ambulances. Almost 50% of these were made for the purpose of avoiding hospital admissions and 43% sought to aid discharge from A&E departments.
Prior to implementation a steady rise in falls-related calls was observed, which was believed to be due to demographic changes such as the aging population. A year after implementation the number of falls-related calls has stabilised at around 10,500 per year in Northamptonshire. It is not possible to prove a causal link using the data available, but the initiative is believed to have contributed to this stabilisation by reducing the risk of repeat falls among those referred to the CRFT.
For further information, please go to:
https://arms.evidence.nhs.uk/resources/qipp/1037477/attachment