Post-falls assessment app launched to help care providers make informed lifting decisions
Mangar Health, a manufacturer and supplier of moving and handling equipment, has worked closely with the Welsh Ambulance Service and the West Midlands Ambulance Service to officially launch the new ISTUMBLE app.
A free interactive post-falls assessment tool, ISTUMBLE was devised by the West Midlands Ambulance Service to help carers and care assistants assess fallen residents and make informed decisions whether they can lift the fallen person themselves safely and with the appropriate lifting equipment.
It is part of a continuing initiative to decrease the number of unnecessary ambulance callouts to uninjured fallers, which is currently costing the NHS over £50 million a year, and to safeguard the lives of residents living in care homes.
Clinical research has shown that delayed initial recovery (a lie greater than 10 minutes but less than 1 hour) and long-lie (a lie greater than 1-hour post fall) can result in serious health implications for the faller, such as skin damage resulting in pressure sores, kidney failure and pneumonia.
Simon Claridge, CEO of Mangar Health, commented: “We are very proud to be involved in another project where we are having a direct impact on safeguarding the lives of care home residents and helping to reduce unnecessary ambulance callouts.
“This is another great example of how the public and private sector can work hard together and strive to reach our joint goal of creating better healthcare outcomes for all involved.”
The free ISTUMBLE App takes carers through a series of questions to help determine whether the carer can safely lift the resident themselves with lifting equipment or if they need to call an ambulance immediately.
To download the app, people can visit the Apple Store or Google Play Store and search for ‘ISTUMBLE’.
Mangar Health also recently got involved in a project, in collaboration with the National Collaborative Commissioning Unit and the Welsh Ambulance, to help safeguard the lives of care residents by creating better outcomes for residents through the education of staff and the use of appropriate lifting equipment.