Falls prevention physiotherapy at home in Southwark

Worried about falls, or finding the walk to the shops, the bus stop or the river harder than it used to be? A Chartered Physiotherapist, registered with the HCPC, visits older adults at home across Southwark, from Bermondsey and Rotherhithe to Camberwell and Dulwich. We work on strength, balance and stamina to help you keep doing the things that make this part of London home: a morning at Borough Market, a stroll along the river at Bankside, or a lap of Dulwich Park with a friend. Every programme starts with a falls risk assessment at home.

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Homes in Southwark

Homes here change a lot from street to street. Many people live on large council estates, in deck access blocks and towers around Walworth, Peckham and Bermondsey, where the lift, the long landings and the stairwell are part of every trip out. Near the river there are old leather warehouses and wharves turned into flats, while Rotherhithe has newer riverside homes. Further south, Camberwell, East Dulwich and Dulwich are full of Victorian and Edwardian houses, many split into flats with a steep staircase up to the front door. Every visit starts with how you get around your own home and building. As a physiotherapist who comes to your home, we practise the stairs, landings and front steps you actually use, at a pace that is safe for you.

Where we visit in Southwark

We offer physiotherapy home visits across the borough, including Bankside, Borough, Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Surrey Quays, Elephant and Castle, Walworth, Newington, Camberwell, Peckham, Nunhead, East Dulwich, Dulwich Village, West Dulwich and Herne Hill. That covers postcodes SE1, SE5, SE15, SE16, SE17, SE21 and SE22, and parts of SE19, SE23 and SE24. There is no travel charge anywhere in London.

Coming home from hospital

Many Southwark residents are treated at King's College Hospital on Denmark Hill in Camberwell, or by Guy's and St Thomas', with Guy's Hospital next to London Bridge, and are then supported by NHS community teams. SteadyMotion is an independent private service, separate from the NHS, so we can work alongside your NHS care, while you wait for it, or after it ends. After a fall, a broken hip, or a hip or knee replacement, we work on your walking aid, strength, balance and the stairs at home. Read more in our guide to home physiotherapy for older adults.

Getting out and about again

Most people want to get back to their own corner of the borough. That might be the Thames Path past Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and Southwark Cathedral, a visit to Borough Market, or a walk through Southwark Park or Russia Dock Woodland. Further south it might be Burgess Park, Peckham Rye Park, the shops on Rye Lane and Lordship Lane, East Street Market in Walworth, or the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Local leisure centres in Camberwell, Peckham and Dulwich, and libraries such as Peckham Library and Canada Water Library, are good places to keep active and see people. Getting about here often means the bus, because Peckham, Camberwell and Dulwich have no Underground station, while the north of the borough has the Jubilee and Northern lines and the Overground runs through Canada Water and Peckham Rye. Denmark Hill, Champion Hill and Sydenham Hill are steep, and the Old Kent Road and Walworth Road are busy to cross. We practise getting on and off the bus, the crossings and the hills, step by step, on the routes you actually use.

What a programme can look like

These are examples, not real clients. Every programme is planned around the person and what they want to get back to.

Example: back to Tate Modern. Starting point: someone who loved a day out at Tate Modern and a walk along the river, but stopped going after a fall because the distance and the crowds on the Thames Path felt too much. What we work on: walking stamina, balance when turning and stopping, and steadying yourself if someone brushes past, building up the distance along the riverside together. The goal: an afternoon at the gallery and a walk back along the river again.

Example: the estate lift and landing. Starting point: someone in a Walworth block who began to dread the long landing and the stairs on the days the lift was out of order. What we work on: leg strength, stair practice on the actual stairwell, and pacing with rests on each floor. The goal: confidence getting in and out of the building, lift or no lift.

Example: Saturday at the market. Starting point: someone who shopped at East Street Market every week but now feels unsteady among the stalls while carrying bags. What we work on: balance while carrying, walking in a crowd, and the walk and bus journey to the market. The goal: the weekly shop at the market again.

Example: after a new knee in Dulwich. Starting point: someone home after a knee replacement, living in an Edwardian house with steep stairs, who wants to walk to Dulwich Park again. What we work on: knee strength and bend, the stairs at home, and moving from a frame to a stick, then out to the park gates. The goal: a regular walk round Dulwich Park.

Other areas we visit

We also visit older adults at home in nearby the City of London, Tower Hamlets, Lambeth, Lewisham and Bromley, and across the rest of London, with no travel charge.