Preventing falls in your home

Falls become a major cause of injury and loss of mobility and independence as people get older. You can reduce the risk of falling by taking care of your health and making simple adjustments to your environment.

Have your eyes tested regularly and wear glasses or contact lenses if you need them. Eye tests are free for over-60s on the NHS, and are also free for people on certain benefits or credits, those registered blind or partially sighted and people with diabetes or glaucoma.

Children under 16, and those under 19 in full time education, can also get free eye tests so it is worth taking advantage of this as it may prevent some accidents at home.

If you are eligible for help with NHS costs under the NHS Low Income Scheme, you can claim some or all of the cost of eye tests, glasses and/or contact lenses for you, your partner and your children. Visit www.ppa.org.uk/ppa/low_income.htm for details or call 0845 850 1166.

You are more likely to fall over if you have bad feet, so make sure you visit a chiropodist regularly.

If you find that you get dizzy or light-headed sometimes because of a medical condition or as a side effect of any medication you are taking, talk about it with your GP.
Here are some suggestions for things you can do around the home to make it safer and help prevent falls:

• Make sure your home is well lit, particularly the kitchen, hallways and any landings you have

• Paint the edges of steps with non-slip white paint

• Tidy up any clutter that you could trip over

• If you have rugs at home make sure they are flat and in good condition. Use non-slip mats where possible, particularly in bath, shower and on the bathroom floor

• If you think you might benefit from aids and adaptations in your home, contact your tenancy services officer in the small instance. L&Q may be able to install some smaller aids and adaptations, but you will need to contact the Occupational Health department at your local authority for bigger work

• Think about removing the casters from any furniture you have which could move if you lean on it

• Residents living in L&Q sheltered schemes have emergency pull cords in their homes to alert a member of staff if they have a fall or other accident. Residents who feel particularly vulnerable can also ask for a special pendant to wear round their neck or on their wrist so they can still call for help if for some reason they can’t get to the emergency cord.

If you do have a fall and think you may have to wait a while for help try to keep warm and cover your feet and legs if possible. If you can’t get up, gentle movement is better than lying still for a long time.

Contact your local authority or your local Age Concern to find out about local fall prevention schemes. You can also visit the Age Concern website at www.ageconcern.org.uk or call free on 0800 00 99 66 for more information.

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