Falls in older people

Abstract

Thirty per cent of people aged over 65 fall each year in the UK. This number increases to more than 60% in those in care homes, illustrating the contextual nature of falls. The social consequences (apart from any injury) are considerable, with fear of falling among the most common. Fear of falls reduces the patient's quality of life and increases dependency. This has a significant knock-on effect for social and community care. For GPs, the frequency of falls presenting depends on the nature of the practice and the environment. But if you ask patients, you will find falls. As a consequence, they form part of the single assessment process (SAP) introduced in the national service framework for older people, which is used to determine a patient's health and social care needs. To manage falls more effectively, this contribution assesses how Southwark and Lambeth Integrated care pathway for older people with falls (SLIPS Project) has been developed as a fully integrated pathway linking acute care with primary, community and social care.