PATIENTS who are at risk of falling have been shown a film in the hopes of giving them top tips to stay upright.

The 13-minute video, made by the multidisciplinary team at Colchester General Hospital, aims to help patients recover from a fall and to minimise the risk of future falls.

It includes advice given by a physiotherapist, doctor, falls prevention practitioner, dietitian, pharmacist and occupational therapist.

The idea for a falls prevention education project came from physiotherapist Rebecca Impson, with support from Tracey Williams-Macklin, head of Occupational Therapy, Dr Teshk Shawis, consultant geriatrician, and Jo Field, falls prevention practitioner.

Their suggestion won a Dragons’ Den style innovation competition organised by Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust.

Ms Impson said: “Although falls are common among elderly people, they are not an inevitable consequence of age and are preventable.

“The film has been made to share the expertise of our multidisciplinary team with patients, their relatives and friends, to aid recovery and to prevent further falls among people who attend hospital because of falls or who are at risk of falls.

“It’s is currently being piloted on D’Arcy ward, which is one of our care of the elderly wards, but the plan is to roll it out, including to our frailty unit and other wards across the hospital.”

So far, the feedback has been positive with patients saying the film has given them a greater understanding of what they can do to minimise the risk.

The runner-up in the Dragons’ Den-style competition was Subash Vasudevan, a consultant colorectal surgeon.

He put forward the suggestion for an anorectal physiology laboratory to carry out tests on patients with pelvic floor disorders came to fruition in July.