According to the NHS, around 30% of adults over 65 years of age will have at least one fall per year. Although a fall may sound trivial, for an older person, it can result in injuries that take months to heal. This not only physically limits a person’s mobility, it can lead to a someone feeling as if they have lost their independence and becoming isolated or withdrawn.Â
Around the home, it is fairly easy to take simple steps to reduce the risk of falls. Plentiful lighting so you can see clearly, wearing sensible footwear on slippery surfaces (e.g. not socks or tights) and keeping things tidy can all reduce the chances of falls happening in the first place.
Outside of the house, dangerous pavements and road surfaces create a high risk of falls and at first sight it seems as if there’s not much you can control. However, it is down to local authorities to fix unsafe pavements, so it’s essential that problems are reported to the local council. Help the Aged are campaigning for local authorities to monitor the condition of pavements and undertake repairs. You can report dangerous pavements in Essex on the County Council website.
Alternatively, Help the Aged will pass on reports and follow them up with local authorities, alongside their Dangerous Pavements campaign.
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- Read more on these issues on the Help the Aged website.
- Read more on preventing and what to do in the event of a fall on the NHS Website.
2 Comments
Thank you for this information I-Hsien. You are absolutely right, a fall can have quite devasting results as we have found from first hand experience. Mike’s father tripped up an uneven pavement several months ago. It resulted in him having a half-hip replacement, but his confidence is shaken and he is still unable to get out of the house on his own.
I would recommend people take I-Hsiens advice and report any uneven pavements they find.
I fell on the pavement in the summer while crossing near Chalkwell Park-I forgot about the nobbles which alert visually impaired people at the lights! I was badly shaken, my ego bruised along with my knee and rescued by a lady on a bike and a schoolgirl.
Closer to home, pavement hazards can include uplifted drain covers and guttering.I reported two of these to the council in the last two months and both were mended in two days.