How Southern Health are using Raizer Chairs to improve falls prevention outcomes

Case Study at a glance

Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust have implemented Raizer Lifting Chairs in their Falls Prevention Service balance classes. The Raizer is giving the patients and the falls prevention teams the confidence to get the client onto the floor to practice backward chaining. And by using the Raizer to lower patients to the floor, more time and training can be spent on getting off the floor – leading to more successful programme outcomes.

The Case Study Video

The Challenge: Lack of time and confidence for backward chaining in NHS balance classes

Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Falls Prevention Service run NHS balance classes, a 12-week program which works on strength and balance for older people who are at a higher risk of falling. This is normally due to one of the following reasons;

• They have had a fall
• They’re afraid of falling
• They’ve been referred to the falls team by their GP
• An Ambulance crew have referred them following a callout to a fall

A key part of these classes is backward chaining. This is where the participant is helped to the floor and then taught to roll over, get on to their hands and knees and then stand with the help of a chair. This is broken down into small steps and can be tailored to the ability of each participant, adding an extra step each time until the participant is confident in getting themselves up from the floor after a fall.

Adi Phillips, falls prevention team lead at Southern Health, found that not all of the class participants had done backward chaining as part of their 12 week programme. She noticed that the patients who had done the backward chaining work as part of their classes were more likely to carry on with their exercise programme at home, because they were confident they could get themselves up from the floor.

By contrast, the patients that hadn’t done backward chaining work still had the fear of falling, so they weren’t as compliant with continuing their exercise programme at home. This meant that when they did fall, their lack of confidence in how to get up meant they needed to call an ambulance to come and get them up from the floor.

Upon investigation, there were three reasons why backward chaining was not being included in all of the classes.

1. The frailty of the class participants meant the trainers were worried about not being able to get participants safely up from the floor if they couldn’t complete the backward chaining themselves

2. There wasn’t sufficient time in the 12 week programme to slowly build through the backward chaining process – especially teaching the participants to get down to the floor (necessary in order to practise getting back up.)

3. The training team didn’t have all the necessary skills to confidently carry out backward chaining

The Solution: Implementing Raizer Lifting Chairs to assist with backward chaining

Felgains have supplied Southern Health with Raizer Lifting Chairs to assist where necessary with backward chaining at the strength and balance classes. The Trainers can use their Raizer Lifting Chairs to lower a participant down onto the floor and then go through the stages with them of working out why they can’t get up and then rectifying it with techniques and exercises. And if the participant cannot get themselves up from the floor, the Raizer is at hand for the trainer to single-handedly get the fallen person up quickly and safely.

What is the Raizer? The Raizer is a motorised lifting chair that assembles around a fallen person and lifts them up to a seated or perching position. It is easy to assemble and use for the caregiver, and it is safe, smooth and very reassuring for the fallen person. Find out more

The impact and results: Enabling successful falls prevention balance classes, reducing future fall risk

Trainers

The presence of the Raizer chair is allowing the NHS balance class trainers at Southern Health to include backward chaining as part of the 12 week programme – giving them the confidence to get participants down on the floor without having to worry about how they’re going to get them up again if the participant can’t get up themselves – especially as the trainers often teach the classes alone.

Participants

The Raizer is facilitating more participants successfully doing backward chaining, boosting their confidence and making them more likely to continue with their exercises. As a result, their outcomes will be better and they are less likely to fall again.

The System

Using the Raizer to facilitate more time doing backward chaining as part of the 12-week programme enables Southern Health to improve the programme outcomes. More confident participants who have successfully done backward chaining are less likely to fall and require a callout. At a system level, reducing the likelihood of future falls will reduce callouts to falls, freeing up capacity across acute settings and reducing future demand pressure.

Learnings & Conclusions

By implementing Raizer Lifting Chairs in their falls prevention service, Southern Health are;

• Giving the trainers and participants confidence to carry out backward chaining
• Improving outcomes of the 12-week programme
• Reducing the future cost and capacity challenges associated with falls

Speak to an expert today to find out how the Raizer Chair could help your organisation reduce the risk of falls, just like Southern Health.

And click here to find out more about the Raizer 2 Emergency Lifting Chair