Brighton Mobility Score

Make mobility measurable

Brighton Mobility Score

A simple 0–20 bedside score designed to make changes in functional mobility visible, repeatable and easy to communicate across the multidisciplinary team.

In frailty medicine, mobility is often one of the clearest signals of whether a patient is improving, deteriorating, deconditioning or regaining independence. The Brighton Mobility Score aims to turn that change into something that can be followed over time rather than merely described.

Open the score Read about the pilot
Older hospital patient sitting out in a chair with a nurse nearby

Why another mobility score?

Mobility matters because function often changes before discharge plans do.

In older and frail inpatients, a small change in mobility can have large practical consequences. The difference between being hoisted, standing with help, walking a few metres with a frame, or mobilising independently may alter supervision needs, rehabilitation goals, nursing workload, and the realistic discharge destination.

Existing documentation is often narrative: “up with assistance”, “transfers with frame”, or “sat out in chair”. These descriptions are clinically useful, but they are not always easy to compare over time and they do not always provide enough granularity to make day-to-day functional change obvious.

The central idea: if clinicians routinely trend pulse, blood pressure, NEWS2 and GCS, then mobility — a major clinical outcome in frailty — should also be made visible and trackable.

The mobility journey

Three familiar stages of functional recovery

The BMS is useful because it captures change across the whole mobility pathway: from sitting out, to assisted mobilisation, to more independent recovery. It is the trajectory that often tells the story.

Older patient sitting out in a chair beside a hospital bed
Early functional recovery Getting out of bed and sitting in a chair may be the first important step away from bed-bound status.
Older patient mobilising with a frame and therapist support
Assisted mobilisation Walking with a frame and support often marks the transition from transfer-based care to active rehabilitation.
Older patient walking with a stick and clinician nearby
Recovery and confidence Progress towards more independent mobility can shape discharge planning, equipment needs and package of care.

The concept

Follow the trajectory, not just the snapshot.

The BMS is designed to create a longitudinal picture of function: admission, deterioration, deconditioning, stabilisation, rehabilitation and recovery. A single score is not a diagnosis; its value comes from showing how mobility changes over time.

A falling score should prompt clinicians to ask why mobility has changed. Acute illness, pain, delirium, hypotension, medication effects, fear of falling, prolonged bed rest and hospital-associated deconditioning may all contribute. An improving score can provide a simple, objective signal of recovery.

The BMS is a bedside measure of current functional mobility. It does not replace physiotherapy or occupational therapy assessment, which answer wider questions about gait, balance, strength, cognition, equipment and rehabilitation potential.

Illustrative patient mobility trajectory over time

Serial BMS measurements can make deterioration, deconditioning and recovery visible.

The tool

Brighton Mobility Score /20

Use the highest level the patient can safely achieve most of the time. The score describes functional mobility only; cognitive and medical status require separate assessment.

Brighton Mobility Score main scoring page
Page 1 — Functional mobility from bed bound to fully mobile.
Social History and Package of Care page
Page 2 — Social History & Package of Care.
Download the PDF Pilot & development
01

Granularity

Twenty-one levels distinguish meaningful functional steps between bed bound, assisted transfers, mobilisation with aids and independent mobility.

02

Repeatability

The score is intended to be quick enough for routine ward use, allowing serial observations rather than occasional descriptions buried in free text.

03

Shared language

A standard score can help nurses, doctors and therapists communicate mobility using the same functional reference points.

Contact & licence

For updates, pilot information or enquiries: declan.okane@nhs.net

Brighton Mobility Score © Dr Declan O'Kane 2026. Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. It may be shared with attribution for non-commercial use and used freely in clinical practice and education; it must not be modified or used commercially without written permission.