{"id":404,"date":"2023-06-14T16:29:59","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T15:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/chss\/?page_id=404"},"modified":"2025-08-19T12:48:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T11:48:24","slug":"falls","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/chss\/clinical-resources\/falls\/","title":{"rendered":"Falls advice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As people age, they become more susceptible to falls, which can cause serious injuries and even be life-threatening. Falls can occur due to a variety of reasons, including poor balance, muscle weakness, visual impairments, medications, and environmental hazards.<\/p>\n<details class=\"nhsuk-details nhsuk-expander\">\n                    <summary class=\"nhsuk-details__summary\">\n                        <span class=\"nhsuk-details__summary-text\">Falls assessment<\/span>\n                    <\/summary>\n                    <div class=\"nhsuk-details__text\">\n<p>To prevent falls and reduce the risk of injury, falls assessment and advice for the elderly are essential.<\/p>\n<p>A falls assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of a resident&#8217;s health, mobility, and living environment. It involves assessing an individual&#8217;s risk factors for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Falls<\/li>\n<li>Balance<\/li>\n<li>Strength<\/li>\n<li>Vision<\/li>\n<li>Medications<\/li>\n<li>Cognitive function<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n                <\/details>\n<details class=\"nhsuk-details nhsuk-expander\">\n                    <summary class=\"nhsuk-details__summary\">\n                        <span class=\"nhsuk-details__summary-text\">Environment<\/span>\n                    <\/summary>\n                    <div class=\"nhsuk-details__text\">\n<p>The assessment also includes an evaluation of their living environment, such as the presence of trip hazards, loose carpets, and poor lighting. By identifying potential risk factors, the assessment enables CHSS nurses to provide personalised advice and recommendations to reduce the risk of falls.<\/p>\n<p>Falls assessment and advice can significantly reduce the risk of falls and their associated injuries. Studies have shown that falls assessment and intervention can reduce the number of falls in elderly people by up to 30%.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n                <\/details>\n<details class=\"nhsuk-details nhsuk-expander\">\n                    <summary class=\"nhsuk-details__summary\">\n                        <span class=\"nhsuk-details__summary-text\">Professionals involved<\/span>\n                    <\/summary>\n                    <div class=\"nhsuk-details__text\">\n<p>A falls assessment typically involves a range of health care professionals including specialist CHSS nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and doctors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n                <\/details>\n<h2>Advice<\/h2>\n<p>CHSS nurses can provide advice and recommendations to reduce the risk of falls. The advice may include the following:<\/p>\n<details class=\"nhsuk-details nhsuk-expander\">\n                    <summary class=\"nhsuk-details__summary\">\n                        <span class=\"nhsuk-details__summary-text\">Medication review<\/span>\n                    <\/summary>\n                    <div class=\"nhsuk-details__text\">\n<p>Certain medications can increase the risk of falls. A CHSS nurse can review the resident&#8217;s medications and make recommendations by working with a geriatric consultant and the resident\u2019s GP, to reduce the risk of falls. This might include medications to optimise bone health.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n                <\/details>\n<details class=\"nhsuk-details nhsuk-expander\">\n                    <summary class=\"nhsuk-details__summary\">\n                        <span class=\"nhsuk-details__summary-text\">Exercise programmes<\/span>\n                    <\/summary>\n                    <div class=\"nhsuk-details__text\">\n<p>Regular exercise can improve strength, balance, and mobility, reducing the risk of falls.<\/p>\n<p>A CHSS therapist can recommend specific exercises tailored to the individual&#8217;s needs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n                <\/details>\n<details class=\"nhsuk-details nhsuk-expander\">\n                    <summary class=\"nhsuk-details__summary\">\n                        <span class=\"nhsuk-details__summary-text\">Environment guidance<\/span>\n                    <\/summary>\n                    <div class=\"nhsuk-details__text\">\n<p>To reduce the risk of falls and fragility fractures advice will be given, including removing trip hazards, improving lighting, installing sensor systems, installing grab bars and consideration of hip and head protectors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n                <\/details>\n<details class=\"nhsuk-details nhsuk-expander\">\n                    <summary class=\"nhsuk-details__summary\">\n                        <span class=\"nhsuk-details__summary-text\">Footwear<\/span>\n                    <\/summary>\n                    <div class=\"nhsuk-details__text\">\n<p>Well-fitting footwear can improve balance and reduce the risk of falls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n                <\/details>\n<details class=\"nhsuk-details nhsuk-expander\">\n                    <summary class=\"nhsuk-details__summary\">\n                        <span class=\"nhsuk-details__summary-text\">Provision of mobility aids<\/span>\n                    <\/summary>\n                    <div class=\"nhsuk-details__text\">\n<p>CHSS nurses are trained to recommend and provide mobility aids depending on the needs of the resident to improve mobility and to avoid falls. CHSS nurses may seek input from CHSS therapy team if required.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n                <\/details>\n<details class=\"nhsuk-details nhsuk-expander\">\n                    <summary class=\"nhsuk-details__summary\">\n                        <span class=\"nhsuk-details__summary-text\">Education<\/span>\n                    <\/summary>\n                    <div class=\"nhsuk-details__text\">\n<p>Educating the care home resident and their cares on fall prevention strategies is essential. This can include advice on postural hypotension management.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n                <\/details>\n<h2>Useful resources<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2023\/06\/1.7.2-Types-of-mobility-aids.docx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mobility aids<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2023\/06\/1.7.3-How-to-adjust-the-height-of-a-zimmer-frame.docx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to adjust the height of a zimmer frame<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2023\/06\/1.7.4-Ferrules-and-Skis.docx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ferrules and skis<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2023\/06\/Hip-Protector-Guidelines-1-1.docx\">Hip protector guidelines <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2023\/06\/1.7.5-POSTURAL-HYPOTENSION-care-plan.docx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Postural hypotension care plan<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2023\/06\/1.7.6.-Armchair-exercises.docx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Armchair exercises<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2025\/08\/Supporting-booklet-falls-and-osteoporosis.docx\">Falls and osteoporosis- booklet<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Additional leaflets related to\u00a0 falls\u00a0 can be found on the\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/service_description\/falls-service\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Falls Prevention Service<\/a>\u00a0website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As people age, they become more susceptible to falls, which can cause serious injuries and even be life-threatening. Falls can&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":30,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-404","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=404"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1158,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/404\/revisions\/1158"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxfordhealth.nhs.uk\/chss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}