Falls (health and wellbeing needs in South Tyneside)
Key issues
- The local population is ageing and the proportion of those aged 65 and over continues to increase. In South Tyneside, 20% of the population (30,035 residents) are aged 65+, rising from 18% in 2008 and this figure is projected to rise to over 24% by 2028 and 27.4% by 2038 representing 41,545 residents. [4]
- Injury and debility due to falls will demand even greater resources from the Health Service, the local authority, and third-party providers. All of whom are already struggling to meet the current demands [5] [6]
- The current approach to this issue is still generally reactive rather than proactive, partly due to a reluctance for people to admit or disclose to family/ friends / professionals when they have had a fall, which may lead to issues going unnoticed or until further problems arise. Without an investment in prevention, individuals, families, carers, and services will not be able to cope with the demand in the very near future.
- There are evidence-based interventions and guidance that can reduce one's risk of falling - the Falls and fractures: consensus statement [7] outlines approaches to interventions and activities helping prevent falls and fractures to improve health outcomes for older people.
- Evidence has also shown a positive economic return on investment in falls prevention interventions [8]. In 2018, PHE published 'Return on investment of falls prevention programmes in older people in the community' [9]. An audit of Sunderland's Community Falls Service in 2012 demonstrated a potential saving of £640,000 (Metz, 2014, no citation).
- This issue cannot be addressed by one agency or service in isolation but rather requires the coordinated efforts and engagement of the health services, local authority, and third-party providers. This is due to the multifactorial nature of the problem thus requiring attention not only to health but also the wider social determinants of health and lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption, inactivity, and social isolation to name a few.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated issues and risks further, with research suggesting the impact of repeated lockdowns and the shielding of clinically vulnerable (CV) persons has had a negative impact on health and social wellbeing outcomes. A recent study by Di Gessa and Price [10] found that CV respondents were generally at greater risks of deterioration in health and social well-being compared with those not CV in the same age group, and CV respondents who were shielding reported worse outcomes compared with those not CV and not shielding.
