NHS team ‘save life’ of construction engineer who fell 25-foot from roof
“They are trying and while they’re trying I’ve got hope. They really care.” Robert Bell.
A dad of seven who survived a 25-foot fall from a building which left him unlikely to ever walk again has praised the NHS team which ‘saved his life’.
It was 2022 when Rob Bell fell from a building in America where he was working as a construction engineer, suffering a fractured skull and seven broken ribs followed by a series of strokes.
Robert has told his story through a film together with the team that “saved his life”.
Click on the video image to view on YouTube.
The accident left him with the condition Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) which gives him life altering symptoms including paralysis and occasional blindness.
Rob, from Chaddesden in Derby, who has 7 children, 10 grandchildren and four dogs, said he did not feel like anyone was listening to the housing and healthcare needs that were important to him.
“I was ready to kill myself,” he said. “I’d told my family what I was going to do if I didn’t get help.”
When Rob returned home after many months in hospital, he was not able to access his toilet due to his wheelchair and for a while was spending £500 a week taking taxis to public toilets.
Via his GP, he was referred to the NHS’ Team Up Complex Care Team, run by Primary Healthcare Derby Limited on behalf of Derby and Derbyshire NHS Integrated Care Board.
This team listened to his problems and helped with his clinical needs – as well as the wider issues impacting his quality of life.
“When Team Up came to see me, they really listened,” he said. “They’ve helped us sort out the housing, now I have physio three times a week and help or someone to talk to whenever I need it. They even helped us get some food vouchers and took the kids out help us when they were struggling. They’ve been incredible.”
The Complex Care Team are part of a wider local NHS team, called Team Up, which provide reactive and proactive care to people unable to leave their homes.
Last year, Team Up prevented 900 admissions to the emergency department for patients with frailty and 500 non-elective admissions.
Watch Dr Ian Lawrence and Dr Niall McKay explain how Team Up works and why it is successful.
Click on the video image to view on YouTube.
Dr Annabel Stewart, Rob’s GP, said: “I am so grateful for the support that the complex needs team has given to Rob. We know that a patient’s ability to recover is hugely impacted by the other areas of life – whether that is housing, finance or isolation – so helping with what’s important to that person is crucial. The complex needs team spends time listening to people’s needs and this often results in a much better outcome for the person, and ultimately the taxpayer.”
Before his accident, Rob was a keen fitness fanatic playing football every week and running 5-10 miles three times a week.
“I think that was what kept me alive to be honest. But it was a shock and I wanted physio and help to get off medication and start helping myself. But I couldn’t get what I needed. I didn’t just want to take more and more medication. I wanted to get stronger, healthier and more mobile. I just wanted to have a quality of life.”
The team organised for Rob to receive a regular GP visit, physio, a social prescriber and a pharmacist to reduce his medication where appropriate. Most importantly links to Rob’s housing association who helped secure a wheelchair ramp and eventually a suitable new house with a lift to his toilet and upstairs.
Dr Ruth Lenehan, Rob’s GP in the Complex Care Team, said: “The Complex Needs Team spent time listening to Rob to understand his difficulties, and then involved a wider Multi-Disciplinary Team to develop a plan to support him. This plan then enabled him to get the right help to address his many complicated medical and social problems.”
Rob’s partner, Becky, said: “The team has helped our family out so much, Rob is now able to visit his Dad who has Parkinson’s, and I can go out with my daughters knowing he will be ok at home. His mental health has improved so much.”
Social prescriber Joanne Denton, who worked with Rob, said: “Often people’s health needs are impacted by the other areas of their life and for Rob finding housing that met his needs was crucial to his recovery. It was a pleasure to be able to help him secure better housing and to see him and his family thriving now.”
Vicki Starkey, Senior Clinical Pharmacist, said: “I visited Rob at his home and listened to the difficulties he had with his medication. We focused on the issues that mattered most to him and I supported him to work towards reducing his medicine burden appropriately.
“Many people encounter challenges with their medication. This service includes a dedicated pharmacy team that provides comprehensive support to help individuals manage their medicines effectively.”
“How I survived the fall I don’t know,” Rob said. “They’ve told me I won’t be able to walk again but I won’t stop trying and doing the exercises.
“I know the team are only a phone call away and sometimes they just call to check in. We haven’t cracked it yet, but they are trying and while they’re trying I’ve got hope. They really care. I just can’t speak highly of them enough.”