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   Thousands 'never recover' from winter falls in Salford
by Tom Rodgers
Over 4,000 elderly people each year never fully recover from falls in winter, say researchers at Salford Royal hospital. New figures released by the hospital on Stott Lane, Eccles, show that in December 2010 more than 500 people were admitted to Salford Royal after sustaining injuries from falls. A large proportion of these admissions are in the over 65s. "Each year in Salford, more than 10,000 older people will have a fall in the community – with 4,000 of them never fully recovering from their accident and being as active as they once were," says the paper. Salford Royal has its own 'Falls Service' to try to combat these preventable injuries. Co-ordinator Emma Spellman told SalfordOnline that experiencing a fall can have a truly life-changing effect: "It can be devastating, particularly for the elderly who are the most likely to have an accident. "Our research shows that taking action now could cut falls and injuries by a half." Salford Royal are now encouraging people to take ‘five small steps’ to preventing falls this winter. Simple actions like checking medication or wearing the right shoes can help prevent these devastating injuries, say the hospital. The other recommendations are to take regular exercise, have regular eye tests and to have your home checked for potential hazards Salford Royal's Falls Service promises to offer support and information to help people reduce their risk of falling. The service can be contacted on 0161 212 4097. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
