Fears over OAP fall injuries
The number of elderly Walsall residents falling and injuring themselves is expected to increase by more than 3,000 over the next five years.
Walsall Council’s cabinet agreed a budget contribution towards the town’s falls prevention service of £137,000, with the clinical commissioning group also providing £137,000 and the healthcare trust contributing £44,000.
This will ensure the service runs for the next year with continued funding under review.
A report to members said around 17,000 people aged over 65 fall over annually – 7,000 of which are aged over 80 – with hundreds of them left hospitalised as a result.
An anticipated increase in older people from 50,000 to 58,000 by 2025 has led to worried health chiefs projecting the number of extra falls could rise by 3,200 by then.
In 2017/18, 895 people aged over 65 were admitted to hospital following a fall in Walsall and 322 of those suffered hip fractures.
It is estimated that falls in Walsall costs the NHS £10.7 million and social care services a further £2.8 million a year.
In 2018, the authority considered scrapping the £295,000 public health budget for the service, provoking outrage amongst pensioner groups in the town.
But, following a consultation, the council dropped it from the proposed cuts and carried out a review which resulted in a remodelled service.
The report said: “There is a wealth of published evidence on the effectiveness of falls prevention services in reducing the risk and frequency of falling, harm from falls and improving confidence in those who participate in the programmes.
“A lower proportion of people who have been through the services are admitted to hospital compared to the general population of similarly frail older people.
“There is also a reduced fear of falling and increased confidence after completing the programmes.”
