Physios support Stand Up Stay Up campaign

^{Keep Active coordinator Charlotte Ness, participant Kabia Kadidjatu and volunteer Rosemary Mills at an exercise session for older people at Bishop Creighton House, London}

The Stand Up, Stay Up campaign was launched by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) in 2016 and is funded by the Department of Health until 2019. It aims to reduce the rising numbers of people who require hospital treatment due to a fall.

Since starting, Stand Up, Stay Up has helped fund two projects that involve physiotherapists.

One is a postural stability instruction programme in Southend-On-Sea, which includes assessments by GPs and physiotherapists. The other involves physio-led exercise classes for older people in London.

The London Keep Active classes are run by charity Bishop Creighton House, where Joy Wilson is the older people’s services manager. She said the programme aims to ensure people aged over 60, who are discharged from community rehab within Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham, are able to continue to exercise and improve their strength and balance.

Keep Active classes are delivered by physiotherapists and occupational therapists from the Community Independence Service, part of West London Mental Health NHS Trust.

‘We work with a community rehab service, and physios from the service provide the training,’ said Ms Wilson.

‘But our funding was running out so we approached RoSPA. And their funding has helped secure public health and local authority funding.’

With the help of RoSPA funding, the charity has provided four core strength and balance exercise training events so far this year.

Author: Robert Millett