Falls response teams are increasingly visible in the UK as falls and fractures among the elderly unfortunately become increasingly common. In the UK, around 3 million people over the age of 65 fall every year.
Over the last decade, addressing fallen older adults has increasingly become a regular occurrence for fire services across England. This is done wherever an elderly or mobility impaired person falls to the floor and falls intervention is needed, across community care environments as well as within individual’s homes.
To more effectively, safely and quickly achieve the goal of lifting an elderly or vulnerable person from the floor; Humberside F&S service invested in the revolutionary Raizer 2 Emergency Lifting Chair and have enjoyed positive results seeing, first-hand the speed, simplicity, and sturdiness of the falls lifting chair.
The Scale of the Falls Problem
Concerns around falling and the potential impacts on health are high among adults 65+, an Age UK survey found that millions of older people are worried about falling over, with 4.3 million (36%) of surveyed people saying it topped their list of concerns.
This concern of falling and the potential adverse consequences corresponds with the prevalence of falls within the elderly community who are also at the highest risk of life altering effects of falls.
In the UK over 3 million people are estimated to have osteoporosis and there are estimated to be over 500,000 fragility fractures that occur in the UK each year.
Alongside the human outcomes of an elderly person falling to the floor and suffering a fragility impact as a result of reduced bone density from ageing or osteoporosis is the financial burden that this places on the NHS.
Fragility fractures from impact injuries after falling such as hip fractures alone account for 1.8 million hospital bed days and £1.1 billion in hospital costs every year. This is excluding the high cost of social care once a patient is provided with a suitable care package and discharged into the community to begin their rehabilitation process.
Humberside Fire & Rescue Service Helps Falls Patients
To address falls in the community, health services in Hull began work with emergency services to improve response times and patient care. This led to the creation of Hull’s Falls Intervention Response Safety Team (FIRST).
This combined response from health and emergency services aims to provide a rapid 24/7 response to elderly or vulnerable patients in Hull who have fallen and need non-emergency medical support.
- Patient dials NHS111 or 999
- The patient is assessed by by trained staff from Yorkshire Ambulance Service
- If appropriate, patient is referred to Hull’s Falls Intervention Response Safety Team service
- Trainer professionals from the FIRST service aim to reach the fallen person within one hour
- FIRST service provides a non-emergency medical support
- Patient is lifted from the floor
Raizer 2 Lifting Chair Impact
The following message of thanks has been received by Hull FIRST after attending a falls call on 11 November.
Matthew Williams and Darren Moore attended this incident and used the ‘Raizer’ to lift the casualty from the floor to a seated position. This equipment is new to the service and is currently being trialled by the falls team.
The message of thanks from the fallen person read: “It was an excellent and very professional service. Thank you ever so much!” – The following message of thanks has been received by Hull FIRST after attending a falls call on 11 November.
For more information on the Raizer 2 Lifting Chair, or if you would like to book a free no-obligation assessment contact our team or complete the form below.
