Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the March 2015 NICE Quality Standard, Falls in older people, updated in January 2017, if he will make an estimate of the number of GP practices that have implemented (a) Statement 1, (b) Statement 2 and (c) Statement 3 of that Quality Standard since 2017.

Between January 2017 to quarter 2017/18, under the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard, ‘Falls in older people’ the following assessments have been made:

- 102,000 people aged 65 and over have been identified as at risk of having a fall through routine assessments (quality standard 1); and

- 25,000 patients were referred to a falls clinic. All patients referred to a falls clinic received a multifactorial falls risk assessment (quality standard 2). We do not have detailed information on the outcomes of these referrals.

Quality Standard 3 refers to those at risk of needing an individualised multifactorial intervention. As above, we do not have detailed data on the outcome of referrals to a falls clinic but all of those referred could have received an individualised multifactorial intervention.

NHS England understands most general practitioner (GP) practices are applying the NICE Quality Standard. We do not hold information on the specific numbers of GP practices which are applying this NICE Quality Standard.

A number of resources are in place to support GP practices in relation to falls risk identification for older people. This includes guidance for general practices to support implementation of the frailty requirements in the 2017/18 GP contract. The guidance provides an explanation as to why routine frailty identification is included in the General Medical Services Contract and what a general practice is required to do. NICE guidance is referenced here along with supporting tools and resources.