Statistics show that our over 65 year population in the United Kingdom is growing. In 2022 this number grew to over 11,000,000 over 65years. According to national Statistics 1 in 3 of this group will experience a fall at some point.
Having a fall can severely effect your confidence and limit or restrict the amounts of mobility due to having a diminished confidence. There are a number of local and national services available to help prevent falls but there still remains incidents where unexpected falls occur. For this reason Lifeline Community Ambulance C.I.C. are commencing a "Falls Response Service.
The costs of an Emergency Ambulance call out from the Direct Gov indicated in 2022 it was £223 per call out. The call to speak to a call handler on the 111 or 999 services equates to £8 a call. The overall estimated costs of falls across the UK (2022) is £143 Million.
The causes of having a fall are multifactorial – a fall is the result of the interplay of multiple risk factors. These include:
muscle weakness
poor balance
visual impairment
polypharmacy – and the use of certain medicines
environmental hazards
some specific medical conditions, which might make a person more likely to fall
Falls are events resulting from the presence of risk factors. The likelihood and severity of injury resulting from an event is related to a number of possible factors including bone health, risk of falls, frailty and low weight. Strong bones are important for your health. People with low bone mineral density are more likely to experience a fracture following a fall. Osteoporosis is one of the reasons why people have low bone mineral density.
Over 3 million people in the UK have osteoporosis and they are at much greater risk of fragility fractures. Fragility fractures are fractures that result from mechanical forces that would not ordinarily result in fracture, known as low-level (or ‘low energy’) trauma. The World Health Organization (WHO) has quantified this as ‘forces equivalent to a fall from a standing height or less’. Hip fractures alone account for 1.8 million hospital bed days and £1.1 billion in hospital costs every year, excluding the high cost of social care.
Fragility fractures are most common in bones of the spine, wrists and hips. The risk of osteoporosis starts to increase in women after the menopause because their ovaries no longer produce oestrogen, which helps to protect the bones. People may also be at increased risk of osteoporosis because it runs in their family or because of the side effects of some medications such as steroid tablets or injections. Therapies and treatments are available to help prevent fractures in people with osteoporosis. Other factors can also put a person at risk of fractures: low body weight (BMI <19), diet lacking in calcium and vitamin D, poor mobility, smoking, alcohol, diabetes, certain long term medications, especially corticosteroids.
Our Service although not an emergency "999", service would work alongside those emergency services to relieve pressure on service provision. This in turn would increase the availability of emergency crews to attend essential Category-1 calls. If you have any concerns to an individual that has fallen you must contact the appropriate emergency services.
Are the staff trained?
Yes.
All staff are expected to be of at least First Responder Emergency Care (FREC-3 level) and Manual Handling Training. On arriving at the location of the fallen casualty a thorough risk assessment and Initial survey will be performed. This will ensure any immediate concerns for further possible injury or risk to harm increasing will be conveyed to the appropriate services.
Follow up or Signposting referral's will be made to appropriate Local or National Services to ensure the individual gets a suitable needs assessment or ongoing care package/advice.
Mangar Eagle Lifting Cushion
The Eagle Lifting Cushion will both sit up and lift a fallen person. It has a small footprint and can be used in tight spaces such as a bathroom. This product is powered by the Airflo 24 compressor. EAGLE stands for Emergency AGile Lifting Equipment and it is the newest addition to our range of Mangar Health safe lifting cushions. The Eagle is tailor-made for home care, designed to both sit up and lift a fallen person whilst supporting the back, neck and head. It aims to help people with their independence and dignity whilst protecting carers from back injury sustained through repetitive lifting.
What our service offers:
Dedicated telephone number
Staff 24 Hours 7days a week.
Able to lift up to 70 Stone*
Accredited Trained Staff
Caring
Professional
Insured
Contact us...
email: help@lifelineambulance.co.uk
*Limits set by Mangar in the manual for use.
References:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/falls-applying-all-our-health/falls-applying-all-our-health
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