Falls Programme
Falls and fractures in older people within the hospital are often preventable. Reducing falls and fractures is important for maintaining the health, wellbeing, and independence of older people.
A fall is defined as an event which causes a person to, unintentionally, rest on the ground or lower level, and is not a result of a major intrinsic event (such as a stroke) or overwhelming hazard.
Having a fall can happen to anyone, it is an unfortunate but normal result of human anatomy. However, as people get older, they are more likely to fall over. People aged 65 and older have the highest risk of falling. Around a third of people aged 65 and over, and around half of people aged 80 and over, fall at least once a year.
Falling is a cause of distress, pain, injury, loss of confidence, loss of independence and mortality. Falls can become recurrent and result in injuries including head injuries and hip fractures.
The causes of having a fall are multifactorial – a fall is the result of the interplay of multiple risk factors. Here at NNUH, we take a multifactorial approach to falls prevention but assessing all patients 65 or over, of those under 65 who have already had a fall or have a medical condition which could increase their risk of falling.
Contact
Anna Skipper: Falls Prevention & Management Lead