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Supporting older people to avoid slips, trips and falls

Supporting older people to avoid slips, trips and falls
Date published: 28 January 2021 Author: Izzi Parsonage Categories:

Falls: a word that most older people dread and with good reason.

Around one in three adults over 65 who live at home will have at least one fall per year, with approximately half of these individuals having multiple falls. In 2017/18 there were over 220,000 emergency hospital admissions in England related to falls amongst people aged 65+, with over 146,000 of these individuals aged 80+, and of course falls can lead to premature death, with women more at risk due to the prevalence of osteoporosis (brittle bone disease).

The statistics tell a frightening story, but the personal toll for individuals who’ve fallen is often far greater and longer lasting than a hospital admission. Many of us only think about the injuries and pain caused by falls, but the loss of confidence and independence that often results from falls can be equally debilitating in the long-term.

At Promedica24, many of our clients seek our live-in care after they’ve had a fall. Winter is a peak time for falls with icy conditions making paths and pavements hazardous, and if an older person has recently been in hospital, perhaps because of a fall, it’s worth bearing in mind what NHS England say:

Many older people, particularly those who are frail and may have dementia, actually deteriorate while in hospital – a stay of more than 10 days leads to 10 years’ muscle ageing for people most at risk.”

Given that nearly 350,000 patients spend more than three weeks in hospital each year, that’s a lot of people leaving hospital with a greater risk of falling due to muscle ageing. One of the features of our private care is supporting our home care clients with post-hospital rehabilitation, plus slips, trips and falls prevention, which includes:

In addition, it’s good practice for families to:

 

To find out more about how Promedica24 can support you and your family, please visit https://promedica24.co.uk, get in touch with our team on 0800 086 8686 or email care@promedica24.co.uk.

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