Falls in care and residential homes are common. Fortunately most don’t require an emergency ambulance response. Staff are experienced in managing what to do when a person in their care falls and have routine procedures to care for them, which for non-serious injuries may include calling a GP, out-of-hours care provider, falls service (if available) or NHS 111.
It is particularly important that the 999 service is used only when someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk, and that care home staff know how they can support residents who have fallen and are waiting for an ambulance.
In order to support this, a Falls FAQs Poster for Care Homes that has been developed by Julie Windsor, Julie Whitney and Cathryn James from the National Falls Prevention Coordination Group (NFPCG), and supported by the British Geriatrics Society (BGS).
We hope that it will be a helpful resource for staff in care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic – and you can download a copy of it here.
Additional guidance and resources for Managing the COVID-19 Pandemic in Care homes for Older People can be found here.
