“We have seen a reduction in falls, this is absolutely due to the Falls Prevention tool.” Real life impacts of our Falls Prevention Tool

Globally, falls are a major public health problem.

A survey commissioned by Age UK found that millions of older people are worried about falling over, with 4.3 million saying it topped their list of concerns.

Falls contribute significantly to hip fractures in older people, many of which are preventable, and they have serious consequences for older people. Falls are the most common cause of injury related deaths in people over the age of 75 with over 5,000 older people dying as a result of a fall in 2017, a 70% increase on the numbers in 2010.

Older people may remain in hospital for several weeks as a result of a fall, and at any one-time older people recovering from hip fracture require over 3,600 hospital beds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Hip fractures are also the most common reason for older people needing emergency anaesthesia and surgery, and the most common cause of accidental death.

Key Facts from the World Health Organization:

Falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide.

Each year an estimated 684 000 individuals die from falls globally of which over 80% are in low- and middle-income countries.

Adults older than 60 years of age suffer the greatest number of fatal falls.

37.3 million falls that are severe enough to require medical attention occur each year.

Prevention strategies should emphasize education, training, creating safer environments, prioritizing fall-related research and establishing effective policies to reduce risk.

At Safe Steps we continue to address any gaps in the care home system and make life a little bit easier for the people who provide this care.

By digitising the assessment of frailty and other age-related issues, we aim to make elder care more centralised and efficient so that the carers can go back to spending time with their residents and providing them with the emotional framework they need.

We recently spoke too one of our Care Home Partners Bankfield Residential Home who have implemented our tools into their work.

Nikki, the Care Home manager, said:

We fill out the assessments weekly, this is normally done by one of the senior carers. I will then go on weekly to oversee assessments and also add any new residents we may have.

The technology is really great. It is a positive experience, and the staff are happy and confident using the tools.

It is definitely improving our Ward Rounds with the GP.

It saves times time and resolves the issue of paper assessments. We like the digital element of the tools and the easy access. We are able to access information about residents much quicker now.

We also spoke to Safe Harbour Nursing Home who said:

Using the Falls Prevention tool has enabled all the staff to have access to up-to-date information in relation to residents falls and how these are being managed and any actions being taken.

It has taken away the huge amount of time it takes to record falls

which has meant staff have more time to spend with the residents rather than completing large amounts of paperwork. This has been a real positive to our residents.

We have seen a reduction in falls, this is absolutely due to the Falls Prevention app.

Once information is inputted and an action plan is formulated, this guides the staff on how to plan appropriate care and the how to best support the residents going forward.

Everything is done in a timely manner and is easy to navigate.