From 1 July 2022, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) will be dissolved, and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) will take over the responsibility for NHS functions and budgets. We will become part of NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB. You can continue to use this website to find the information you need, which remains relevant for the Hull area.

Hull FIRST falls response service

Hull FIRST stands for Falls Intervention Response Safety Team. We have worked together with our local public sector partners and created an NHS Alliance (partnership) to introduce a pioneering scheme which provides a rapid 24/7 response to elderly or vulnerable patients in Hull who have fallen and need non-emergency medical support.

When a patient has fallen and calls NHS111 or 999, they are triaged (assessed) by trained staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS). Clinical advisers will provide a robust assessment to ensure patients are provided with the most appropriate care for their needs.

Where it is clinically appropriate, the patient is referred to the Hull FIRST Service. The service is made up of professionals with a range of skills and includes officers from Humberside Fire and Rescue Service to help move or offer physical support to the patient, and ambulance staff and CHCP emergency care practitioners (ECPs) to provide non-emergency medical care. The team aims to reach the patient within one hour.

The Humber FT Falls Prevention Team follow up the initial response with one to one support to resolve any instant problems which may have caused the fall. The team also offer fragility fracture risk assessments in the home, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and fracture liaison nurses. Any required safety equipment is provided through the joint Hull City Council and Hull CCG Better Care in Hull programme.

The British Geriatric Society estimates that around 30% of people age 65+ and 40% of people age 75+ who are living at home fall each year. In Hull 1,016 people aged 65+ were admitted to hospital with injuries due to their fall last year. While most falls do not result in a serious injury, a fear of falling can reduce confidence, independence and social contact.

Ensuring patients receive fast and appropriate care in the community avoids unnecessary hospital visits, helps patients remain independent and confident and allows them to stay close to friends and family.

Our NHS Alliance is made up of:

Continuing support is offered by the Falls Prevention Team

 Communities of Care

Our work was showcased in ‘Communities of Care’ which is a series of NHS Alliance programmes produced in partnership with ITN Productions.

‘Communities of Care’ is a three-part series, looking at how the NHS is meeting the challenge of tightened budgets, rising costs and stretched resources. Introduced by national newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky, it is an in-depth online programme featuring key industry interviews and news-style reports along with sponsored editorial profiles of leading organisations.

The programme explores the renewed focus on empowering individuals to manage their health within their communities, and how that’s reflected across the country. It covers new models of care, systems that ease the administrative burden, and innovative new treatments.

Watch our four minute film below.

Skip to content