Older adult falls crisis: prevention and physiotherapy urged
6 reported
A letter published in The Guardian responds to a recent article about GPs being too overloaded to help older people at risk of falling. The letter cites research from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) showing falls are the leading cause of accidental death in the UK, killing over 11,000 people a year, with more than 9,000 of those aged 75 and over. The rate of deaths increased by 12% over a single year. RoSPA is calling for equitable access to falls and fracture liaison services to remove postcode-based variation in treatment. Another letter writer, representing the Community Rehab Alliance, states that access to physiotherapy could prevent nearly 200,000 falls and save the NHS more than £275 million each year, but rehabilitation services are hindered by workforce shortages, recruitment freezes, and loss of clinical space and resources.
What’s reported
Falls are the leading cause of accidental death in the UK, killing over 11,000 people a year.
More than 9,000 of those deaths are among people aged 75 and over.
The rate of deaths from falls increased by 12% over a single year.
RoSPA is calling for equitable access to falls and fracture liaison services.
Access to physiotherapy could prevent nearly 200,000 falls and save the NHS more than £275 million each year.
Rehabilitation services are held back by workforce shortages, recruitment freezes, and loss of clinical space and resources.
Key figures
Jules Robinson, RoSPA
Sara Hazzard, Co-chair, Community Rehab Alliance
Sources: The Guardian
