Falls Risk
Assessment Toolkit

Falls are the largest cause of emergency hospital admissions for older people, with a significant negative impact on long term outcomes, e.g. being a major precipitant of people moving from their own home to long-term nursing or residential care ^3,4. The human cost of falling includes distress, pain, injury, loss of confidence, loss of independence and mortality¹.

Falls are estimated to cost the NHS more than £2 billion per year¹. Furthermore, research suggests that, on average, the cost of hospital, community and social care services for patients who fall are almost four times as much in the 12 months after admission as the costs of the admission itself. Over the 12 months that follow admission for falls, costs can be 70 percent higher than in the 12 months before the fall; the most dramatic increase being in community care costs (160 percent)⁵.

With the number of people aged 65 and over predicted to increase by 2 million by 2021, costs are set to rise further⁵.

However, many falls are preventable by removing hazards, addressing deterioration in muscle strength, balance and vision. In addition, a person’s level of risk may unwittingly be increased by the prescription of certain medications. NICE recommends that “older people on psychotropic medications should have their medication reviewed, with specialist input if appropriate, and discontinued if possible to reduce their risk of falling”¹.

Public Health England’s consensus statement on Falls and fracture⁶ emphasises that “Effective, planned, evidence-based approaches to falls and fracture risk reduction are of key importance to the health and wellbeing of people living in our communities and those that care for them. The routine identification of those most vulnerable to falling will allow the targeting of interventions which confer the best chances of avoiding injury and its potentially catastrophic consequences.

The Falls Risk Assessment Toolkit provides a simple but effective means for the whole healthcare team to proactively implement a review process whereby vulnerable patients can be identified, receive appropriate care and thus reduce their risk of falling.