June 26th was National Falls Awareness Day and we went out in Guildford and Chertsey to see how people providing health services in the community were supporting the day and raising awareness.
Our first stop was the Guildhall in Guildford where I met up with Jane Doherty, Senior Physiotherapist with the Falls Team at the Florence Desmond Day Hospital, attached to the Royal Surrey. The team provides a comprehensive service mainly to older people, aimed at preventing falls and helping people to maintain their independence in their own home. The service covers all sorts of assessment, investigations and screening as well as advice and exercises.
We couldn’t talk for long as Jane was busy helping people fit new ferrules to their walking sticks. She explained that lots of people just let that rubber bit wear smooth and don’t think of getting it changed, but it can make an enormous difference to the usability of a stick and reduce the likelihood of a fall.
I did manage to get Jane away from the stall long enough for a quick interview and asked her to explain what the Falls Team does in this short video.
The Deputy Mayor of Guildford, Cllr Jennifer Jordan (seen below accompanied by a walking cigarette) was along at the Guildhall but I don’t know whether Jane managed to doorstep her about the quality of paving in Guildford High Street.
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