Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Why do older people fall? Lots of reason including failing eyesight

This is an interesting statistic. About one in three people over 65 will experience a fall each year but only 3% thought that failing eyesight was a major contributing factor.

To get a measure of the importance of 'falls'  - Age UK estimates that the cost to the NHS of treating older people suffering a fall is about £4.6m a day. This is only a small part of the cost since falls can trigger an avalanche of other illnesses that often radically change the person's life and cost them and the health/care sector a lot of money.

The saying: "most older people are a fall away from a disaster" is so very true.

This document from the College of Optometrists explains about the importance of failing eyesight. You do wonder why so many companies seem to give zero attention to the lighting int those areas of their establishments where people might fall. Dick Stroud

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