Focussing on Falls & Frailty for Community Wellbeing
Following the success of various falls prevention projects across the city, BCHC Charity have secured funding from Birmingham City Council to deliver a similar project, with an emphasis on both falls and frailty, in conjunction with the BCHC Falls Prevention Team.
Like many cities across the UK, Birmingham has a growing number of older people, contributing so much to our communities such as caring for younger generations, volunteering, and sharing skills and knowledge which have been accumulated over a lifetime. For many, their older years are a period of great happiness and freedom to live as they please, however for some, getting older can bring difficulties that impact their comfort, dignity and independence.
Falling is the biggest cause of emergency hospital admissions for older people, and as such it is incredibly important that our communities are well-informed of the importance of falls prevention so that they can take the necessary steps to avoid falls and lead healthier lives for longer.
Birmingham City Council identified 13 target wards across the city for BCHC to provide information around falls and frailty, through both educational stands in public spaces such as shopping centres and supermarkets, or one-hour presentations to community groups at coffee morning groups, church groups, and more.
The information stands have allowed BCHC Falls Prevention staff to talk with members of the public about the importance of guarding against falls, provide written information, and give out new ferrules (the rubber stopper on the bottom of the aid) for anyone with a walking aid whose ferrule has worn away and lost its grip. The team are also able to refer people to a charity-funded falls prevention video, available in several languages on the BCHC website .
The community sessions include all the above but allow for more engagement using an educational falls prevention spinning wheel, in which each segment notes one of the main causes of falls and fracture. The team encourage the group to spin the wheel and discuss the item in the segment it lands on, as well as discussing what frailty means to them, before showing a presentation on the topic.
The project aims to encourage independence, improve overall health and wellbeing by educating the public on the risks of falls and frailty in the older population. One attendee at a one-hour session said, “It was really helpful. A lot of these things are common sense, but you don’t always think about it.” Throughout the conversations the team have had, there is a clear theme that people are worried about losing their independence; for example, several people who have had a lot of falls or near misses reported that this has left them feeling anxious about falling again. Providing them with the reassurance and confidence to continue staying active and maintaining self-care is vital to help them recover and stay well. A facilitator at one of the sessions reflected on the importance of sharing this information, “The session today was extremely useful and informative. It covered information on walking aids, hazards around the home and lots of useful tips.”
During the first five months of the project, the team has had educational stands in 9 high footfall areas, hosted 2 hour-long community sessions, replaced 54 ferrules, and spoken to 277 Birmingham residents. The project is due to finish in October, and it is hoped that further funding will be forthcoming to continue this important project.