Dealing with elderly falls is a key challenge for housing providers and local authorities. We look at how digital telecare can be used to help tackle fall prevention and improve the wellbeing and outcomes for older people.
Falls are a common concern as we get older. They are also an important issue for housing and care providers: with an ageing population, the numbers of elderly falls and related injuries have steadily increased over recent years.
As well as the risk of injury and the associated pressure on healthcare services, falls can have a huge personal impact on older people. Elderly falls reduce quality of life and wellbeing and can be a significant source of worry.
In this blog post, we explore the causes of elderly falls and the role digital telecare can play in your falls management strategy – in particular, how to use this technology as a proactive tool to understand and prevent falls.
Elderly falls – the facts
– Elderly falls affect millions of older people annually, with NHS figures stating around 1 in 3 adults over 65 and half of people over 80 will have at least one fall a year.
– The outcomes of these falls vary depending on the person and the situation: while a fall doesn’t always result in serious injury, there is a risk of broken bones, a hip fracture or head injury.
– From a practical perspective, the need for medical treatment or a hospital stay adds to pressures on our health services. In fact, government guidance states around 5% of falls lead to fracture and hospitalisation, while unaddressed fall hazards in the home are estimated to cost the NHS £435 million.
– Elderly falls also have a significant personal impact. These can leave older people feeling shaken and less confident in their ability to live their lives fully. An Age UK survey in 2019 highlighted how falls pose a “serious threat to older people’s health, wellbeing and independence”, finding that millions of older people are worried about falling, with over 4 million saying this was their biggest concern.
What to do if an elderly person falls
As a housing provider or local authority, you will need to have measures in place to reduce the risk of falls for the people you support. You should also have a defined process for the management of elderly falls that covers:
– How to support a person who has fallen – with advice to individuals on what to do if they fall and training for staff on what to do when somebody has fallen
– Reporting the incident in a falls register
– Following up after the fall – including assessing the cause, identifying hazards, working with the person to ensure their care plan is updated.
The NICE Quality Standard for falls in older people provides guidance on the management of falls. While this discusses falls in hospitals, the six quality statements are applicable to supported housing environments and provide a useful reference point.
Preventing elderly falls
As the government guidance on falls highlights, one of the challenges with elderly falls is that “multiple risk factors” can be at play. These range from physical issues, such as muscle weakness or balance problems, to the effect of chronic health conditions such as diabetes or arthritis, as well as the side effects of medications. There are also several factors influencing the severity of a fall and the likelihood of injury, including bone health, frailty and low weight.
The prevention of elderly falls is identified as a key strategy. This focuses on measures to minimise the likelihood of a fall by anticipating and educating on core risk factors.
The National Falls Prevention Coordination Group (NFPCG) recommends:
– Assessing the risk of falls – check accommodation and common areas for potential hazards such as uneven flooring, loose carpets and poor lighting.
– Adapting properties – install equipment such as handrails, non-slip flooring, stairlifts, ramps and motion sensor lights.
– Providing information and advice – offer exercise programmes to help maintain strength, balance and coordination, promote a healthy diet and hydration.
As the causes of falls are multifactorial (i.e., resulting from a combination of factors) and the risk of falling appears to increase with the number of risk factors, NICE guidance recommends multiple interventions, which are determined by an individual’s specific risk factors.
How digital telecare can help prevent elderly falls
Technology is already a useful part of fall management tactics. For example, fall detectors are widely used as a way to minimise the risks of a fall. These wearable devices send an alert when the person has a fall, which means help can be provided quickly. This can help the person to feel more confident in the event of a fall and can reduce the severity of any injury by ensuring swift access to medical support.
But digital telecare allows you to go beyond reactive measures with a more informed, co-ordinated approach to the management of elderly falls.
One of the benefits of digital telecare is the wealth of easily accessible data this offers. In the case of falls, you can use the data to support your risk assessments and prevention strategies.
This means you can:
– Determine common risk factors – both for individuals and over your customer base as a whole. This can help you pinpoint the most effective preventative measures.
– Highlight any patterns in the nature of falls at the property – are these happening at certain times of the day or in specific locations? Are staff on-site or would it be beneficial to change shift patterns?
– Identify frequent fallers – is there a trend in the risk factors, such as the physical layout of their property or a medical issue? Do they need additional wraparound care?
– Build a clear picture of a person and their needs – when have they accessed support, what are their typical patterns of behaviour? Depending on the monitoring devices they use, this can flag if they are moving around the property less, not drinking as much, staying in bed for longer.
Improving prevention of elderly falls
Elderly falls have a major impact on our healthcare services and on the quality of life of older people.
With an ageing population, we need to find better ways to tackle this issue. The Age and Ageing Journal notes “there is a wealth of evidence to support interventions to prevent falls” but this requires a co-ordinated and person-centred approach to be successful.
Digital telecare can play a crucial role, allowing you to unlock valuable insights. By identifying patterns and trends, you can take a much stronger preventative approach.
This information can then help you develop your fall management strategies and improve the health and wellbeing of the people using your services.
