Falls and mobility clinic

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

What to bring to the appointment

You should bring a copy of:

• an up-to-date list of your medications including doses
• any correspondence from a medical specialist
• a completed Falls Diary which will be mailed to you when your appointment is booked. You can also download the Falls Diary. 

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.

There is no fee involved, and interpreters are always used if needed.

This service is for you if you are aged over 65 and have an unclear cause of falls and require a geriatrician assessment. 

If you are an adult who has reported one fall or less in six months or have a known cause of falls, you may be redirected to Specialised Rehabilitation Program after consultation.

You are ineligible for this service if you:

• are from a care facility with high care needs and/or severe cognitive impairments.
• have a referral requesting allied health intervention only. In this case you will be referred directly to our Specialised Rehabilitation Program or another community provider.
• are already receiving specialist input for a condition relating to their falls, e.g. if you are seeing a neurologist for Parkinson’s Disease.
• have a suspected or diagnosed neurological condition where that condition is 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.
• have had falls solely associated with a history of syncope, seizure or collapse. In these cases, you may be referred for other specialist medical assessment (e.g. cardiologist, neurologist).

We service the cities of Brimbank, Hobson's Bay, Maribyrnong, Wyndham and the Shire of Melton.

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

They must fill in the falls and mobility clinic referral form on Community Services Referrals. https://www.westernhealth.org.au/HealthProfessionals/Referrals/Pages/Community-Services-Referrals.aspx

They must include:

• Relevant specialist correspondence e.g. neurology, cardiology (if any).
• Recent hospital discharge summaries (if any).
• Current medication list.
• Relevant imaging reports e.g. CT brain, vertebral spine (if any).
• Recent pathology, e.g. Urea, Electrolytes, and Creatinine blood test (UEC), thyroid-stimulating hormone blood test (TSH), vitamin D levels (if any).

Please note if the referral is missing essential information, we will advise you of this and give you a window of four weeks for your referrer to provide this. If the information is not received within this time frame your referral will not proceed.

Referrals can be emailed to Falls&MobilityClinic@wh.org.au.

Place/Role: Falls and Mobility Clinic, Sunshine Hospital

Email: Falls&MobilityClinic@wh.org.au
Phone: 8345 1355

Fax: 8345 0777