A n estimated 11.6 million people aged 65 and over living in the UK remain prone to falls, with 6 people over the age of 65 suffering a fall every minute. The dangers aren’t just to a person’s physical well-being, falls can also have a lasting impact on mental health, potentially reducing a person’s sense of independence and autonomy and leading to isolation. It’s a growing economic issue too, costing the NHS £7,500 per fall, amounting to an annual cost of £2.3 billion.
We knew that technology could be used to combat these alarming statistics. We started by listening to what caregivers and organisations wanted and needed, running co-creation sessions to build shared knowledge. After learning from their expertise and experiences, we realised we needed to eliminate the barriers to risk management, prevention of falls, and aftercare. We worked alongside Wirral Independent Services, who commissioned us to develop a resource that would standardise assessments and responses connected to fall-related injuries. This partnership led us to team up with the Wirral Borough Council and Medequip providers, who were eager to investigate routes into fall prevention, hoping that this would lead to a sharp drop in fall-related hospital admission.
Piloted in Wirral care homes, we developed a falls risk assessment app called Safe Steps. It uses a simple traffic light system: red indicates a checkup is due, amber — in the next couple of days, and green indicates an assessment has successfully been completed. It eliminates the need for arduous paperwork, and saves precious time by keeping all assessment information in one easy to use tool. Information is wirelessly collected and stored in the secure cloud server, meaning there’s no risk of lost or damaged paperwork.
We go through the assessment with our residents and it helps to put their mind at ease that they know we’re dealing with the problem and it boosts their confidence — Care Worker, Age UK
We want to reduce the burden of falls on the NHS and care organisations by implementing a consistent falls prevention strategy. And in doing so, helping to improve the lives of our ageing population across the UK.
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