Falls and Mobility Clinic

In This Section

The Falls and Mobility Clinic provides thorough allied health assessments. We focus on finding the causes of unexplained falls.

Services

Our services are for you if you've experienced falls with no clear cause. We work with a team of specialists to test, diagnose, and manage fall risks.

An occupational therapist and a physiotherapist will assess you at the first appointment. A geriatrician will also assess you if needed.

During this session, they'll:

gather a detailed history of the falls
check for any risk factors that can be changed
offer advice on how to reduce those risks refer the patient to other services if needed.

You'll get a falls prevention plan after the allied health assessment and consultation with a geriatrician (if needed).

You and your general practitioner will get the recommendations.

Eligibility

Clients aged over 65 who have an unclear cause of falls and require a geriatrician assessment
(Note: adults who report 1 fall or less in 6 months or have a known cause of falls may be redirected to Specialised Rehabilitation Program on consultation with the client)
Clients who reside in the Cities of Brimbank, Hobson's Bay, Maribyrnong, Wyndham and the Shire of Melton

Ineligible

Clients from care facilities with high care needs and/or severe cognitive impairments
Referrals requesting allied health intervention only – these clients should be referred directly to Specialised Rehabilitation Program or other Community provider.
Clients who are already receiving specialist input for a condition relating to their falls e.g. Neurologist for Parkinson’s Disease.
Clients with a suspected or diagnosed neurological condition and where that condition is likely to be the primary factor causing the falls and balance problems (e.g. multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease). In this instance another service such as the Movement Disorders clinic would be more appropriate
Clients where that falls have been solely associated with a history of syncope, seizure or collapse and may need to be referred for other specialist medical assessment (e.g. cardiologist, neurologist)

How does the clinic operate?

Medical assessments are by appointment at Sunshine Hospital.
There is no fee involved and interpreters are always used if needed.
Transport must be arranged by the client

Location

The Falls and Mobility Clinic is located at Sunshine Hospital, 176 Furlong Road St Albans

Making a referal

Referrals for the Mobility Clinic or the Falls and Fracture Clinic are accepted from general practitioners, specialists and hospital medical officers.

Fill in the falls and mobility clinic referral form on Community Services Referrals.

Please include:

Relevant specialist correspondence eg neurology, cardiology (if any)
Recent hospital discharge summaries (if any)
Current Medication list
Relevant imaging reports eg CT brain, vertebral spine (if any)
Recent pathology eg UEC, TSH, vitamin D levels (if any)

Please note if the referral is missing essential information we will advise you of this and provide a window of 4 weeks in order for the referrer to action. If this information is not received within this time frame the referral will not proceed.

Referrals can be emailed to Falls&[email protected]

What to bring to the appointment

Clients should bring a copy of:

An up to date list of their medications including doses
Any correspondence from a medical specialist
A completed Falls Diary which will be mailed to you when your appointment is booked or you can download the Falls Diary