Guide
What to do when an elderly parent keeps falling
Repeated falls are rarely just bad luck. They usually have causes, such as weaker legs, poorer balance, medicines, eyesight or hazards at home, and many of these can be worked on. Strength and balance exercise done together cuts the rate of falls in older people by about a third. The first step is finding out why.
If they have just fallen
- Call 999
- If they may have hurt their head, neck, back or hip, or cannot get up.
- Call NHS 111
- If they are in pain, hurt or unwell after a fall.
- Tell their GP
- If they have fallen in the past year, or you are worried about their balance. Ask about a falls assessment or the local NHS falls service.
1 in 3
people over 65 fall at least once a year. Over 80, it is one in two.
Common reasons older people fall
- Weaker legs and poorer balance, often after illness or time in bed
- Medicines that cause dizziness or drowsiness
- Eyesight problems
- Trips at home: loose rugs, poor lighting, stairs without a rail
- Rushing to the toilet, especially at night
- Fear of falling, which leads to doing less, which makes legs weaker
What reduces falls
- Strength and balance exercise, done regularly
- For people at higher risk, a home assessment by an occupational therapist
- A medicines review with the GP or pharmacist
- Regular eye checks
- Grab rails, good lighting and a clear path to the toilet at night
Planning for the fall you cannot prevent
Falls risk can be reduced, but never taken away completely. What often does the most harm is a long lie: being unable to get up for an hour or more. In a Cambridge study of people over 90, almost a third of those who fell lay on the floor for an hour or more, and long lies were strongly linked to serious injury, hospital admission and moving into long-term care.
- A personal alarm they will actually wear, day and night: in the same study, alarms were often there but not used when it mattered
- Practising how to get up from the floor, and what to do if they cannot: reach a phone or alarm, keep warm, and change position about every 30 minutes
- A key safe, so help can get in quickly
- Regular contact from family or neighbours, especially if they live alone
How we can help
We test strength, balance and mobility, look at how and where the falls happen, and check the house. The written plan says what to work on first, what to change at home, what to ask the GP to review, and how to plan for a fall. Where strength and balance work is the answer, we can do it with them at home, including practising how to get up from the floor.
The assessment is £140, and it starts with a free consultation call.