Green light for falls prevention programme

12 July 2016

Green light for falls prevention programme

A major national community falls prevention programme for people aged over65 which was developed by the joint AucklandWaitemata DHB Funding team was given the official goahead today.

The programme will see the Government invest $30.5 million over the next four years in supporting better outcomes for older people atrisk of a fall or injury.

It is the product of the two DHBs working closely with ACC to develop a new national model for improving the availability of falls and injury prevention initiatives.

“Once people reach 65, their risk of suffering a fall begins to increase. The impacts can be significant in terms of fallrelated injuries, lossofconfidence and social engagement,” said Auckland DHB CEO Ailsa Claire.

“This is about minimising the risk of falls by identifying key risks before they occur and then making appropriate interventions to protect the health of our older Kiwis.”

Waitemata DHB CEO Dr Dale Bramley said: “It is fantastic that our joint funding team has played a prominent role in developing a new model with the potential to bring about such positive, farreaching change for many people and their families.

“It’s also a great example of our DHBs using our combined knowledge and skills to take a national leadership role in a complex area of health care where, unfortunately, demand for treatment continues to grow.”

The evidencebased model will see additional funding made available for:

Individual inhome strength and balance exercise programmes

Community group strength and balance programmes

Home Care Support Service involvement in delivery of inhome falls prevention

Home safety assessment and intervention

Treatment of osteoporosis in people with fragility fractures

ACC receives around 150,000 claims per year due to fallrelated injuries, costing $163 million from people in the over65 age group.

This is expected to keep growing, along with the general population, and the cost of claims could be as high as $418 million by 2025 without the types of interventions announced today.

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