Falls

Falls

Key Facts

Over 400 people fall every day in Ireland
70% of falls occur at night
Falls represents 30% of admissions of older people, many with fractures
The quality of life becomes an issue for many and as such some become depressed
Those who have fallen are at a greater risk of falling again within 6 months
Over 900 older people break their hip in a fall every year. Similar numbers break their wrist

A range of telecare sensors are available to assist those who fall and to reassure carers that help is readily available. The Fall Detector comprises of a sensor which is worn on a belt around the waist and a stand to keep the fall detector when not in use. The detector wakes up from a sleep state when the impact of a fall is detected and identifies through a second sensor as to what impact the fall had on the wearer. Only if the wearer is in a lying position the process continues. If this state remains unchanged after a period of 15 seconds, the device registers an emergency and sends a radio alarm signal to the home unit, which then initiates a call to the monitoring centre.

Suggested Care Package

Bed / Chair Occupancy Sensor - Provides an early warning by alerting that the user has left their bed and not returned within a pre-set time period, indicating a possible fall. The sensor can also be programmed to switch on lights, helping people find their way to and from bed easily.

Fall Detector - 400 older people fall every day in Ireland. Emergency Response's Fall Detector can provide valuable peace of mind by automatically detecting serious falls and raising an alert to the monitoring centre or designated carer.

PIR (Movement Detector) - A wireless Movement Detector that can be used for both activity and inactivity monitoring, for example, to check if a person has got out of bed or visited the kitchen.

Solution

The fear of falling can be a significant factor in the loss of independence and quality of life.

Emergency Response Ltd’s falls management solution for people vulnerable to falling can play a key role in reducing the number and impact of falls, whilst providing valuable reassurance, increasing confidence and promoting peace of mind.

As the majority of falls happen at night, the bed occupancy sensor provides an early warning by alerting the response centre or designated carer that the person has left their bed and not returned during a pre set time period, indicating a possible fall.

Emergency Response Ltd’s fall detector, worn on a belt around the waist, senses the impact and angle of a fall and raises an immediate response from the 24-hour monitoring centre or designated carer via the intelligent LifeLine home unit if assistance is required. The detector can also be activated manually by an integrated trigger, enabling people to live more independently and with the reassurance that help can be quickly summoned if required.

Emergency Response Ltd’s PIR movement detector raises an alert if a long period of inactivity is detected, signalling if a person has not moved around their home and that they may have fallen.

Case Study

Mrs L has a tendency to visit the bathroom in the night. This is normally not a problem, but on a couple of occasions she has tripped on a misplaced slipper. The second time she was unable to get up and call for help, and lay on the bathroom floor for six hours until her daughter fortunately visited the following morning.

A bed sensor was installed which gently turns on a bedside light when Mrs L leaves her bed at night, lowering it automatically upon return. A timer raises an alarm to response centre if Mrs L hasn't returned to her bed after a pre determined time.

Mrs L said: “I know my confidence went. At first I didn’t like the idea but now I think if I don’t make it back to bed, I won’t have to worry about spending another night on the floor.”

View - Falls management solution sheet

To contact our Telecare Support Team call 1850 247 999 or click here to send an email.