| Health bosses were told today the rise was probably due to the transfer of orthopaedic services from Stracathro Hospital by Brechin to Ninewells.
Falls and their consequences for elderly people are a serious subject for the health service, and attempts are being made to improve the way these are managed.
The cost of treatment can be between £12,000 and £20,000 per person, members of the Dundee Local Health Care Co-operative board were told. The organisation represents every family doctor’s surgery and community-based health service in the city.
The board, meeting in King’s Cross Hospital today, heard a presentation by Ken Greig, the LHCC’s recently appointed development manager of the “Falls Project”.
Mr Greig said over the next 18 months he would be examining how the management of falls in older people might be improved.
He has been gathering evidence on elderly people who have suffered falls.
He said older people in Dundee “fall all over the place” and presented themselves at various points in health and social work services. Clear “pathways” could improve the outcome for these patients.
Members had earlier heard of the “catastrophic” effect falls could have on the lives of older people.
Mr Greig said about 8000 people over 65 fell in Dundee every year. Just how serious falls could be was made clear when he gave statistics on hip fractures alone.
He said 50% of elderly people suffering a hip fracture lost a measure of independence. Some 20% died within six months of a fall and 35% died in the first year.
Mr Greig said a multidisciplinary approach had to be taken to treating falls.
“No single intervention will work in isolation,” he said. “There is no point in improving an older person’s vision to help avoid falls if they are taking a knock-out dose of night sedatives and having difficulty rising during the night to go to the toilet.”
The LHCC is to hold workshops for clinical staff to look at ways of improving falls management.
Professor Marion McMurdo, who specialises in medicine for the elderly, said there was “an educational challenge” to get across to older people that falls were not an inevitable part of growing old.
She said a system should be developed to identify people who would benefit from an assessment following a fall. |
