According to new research from The Centre for Better Ageing, 41% of over 70s don’t realise how important good strength and balance is to reduce falls. There were 57,712 hip fractures in England in 2014/15, and falls account for over 4 million hospital bed days every year.
Welcoming the signing of the Falls and Fracture Consensus Statement, Karin Bishop, Assistant Director - Professional Practice at The College of Occupational Therapists said: "The College of Occupational Therapists is delighted to sign up to the Falls and Fracture Consensus Statement. The personal consequences of a fall for the individual can be significant and with the estimated cost of falls to the NHS running to £2.3 billion a year it is vital that the whole health and social care system does everything it can to prevent falls. That is why we have recently published new guidance for our members on how they can prevent and manage falls in adults.
"Occupational therapists can play a key role in reducing the likelihood of people falling if our services are available to people proactively within Primary Care. That is why we are calling on leaders across the health and care system to take notice of the evidence which shows how having more occupational therapists on the front line of the NHS can deliver better quality, more proactive and person centred care which is also more efficient."
You can find more details of the consensus statement published by the Centre For Better Ageing by visiting their website.