SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS could be achieved, at very little additional expense, by reducing the number of falls and fractures among older people, which cost the health service over €400 million annually, a new study has found.
Conducted by a special Falls Initiative Group in the Cork North Lee and Cork South Lee area, the study estimated that falls among the elderly in Cork city and surrounding areas was costing about €31 million a year.
The study group made recommendations aimed at reducing the number of falls and fractures suffered by elderly people by some 15 per cent, which would lead to savings to the local economy of some €25 million over the next five years. According to Dr Kieran O’Connor, consultant geriatrician at the Mercy University and South Infirmary Victoria University hospitals in Cork, who chaired the study group, the cost of treating falls and fractures in older people is projected to rise to €520 million nationally and to €40 million in Cork by 2010.
“Therefore, it is imperative to invest in fall services now in order to realise savings across the local economy. Falls prevention and early intervention in falls and bone health are relatively cheap interventions with enormous potential savings,” Dr O’Connor said.
Among the study group recommendations are better information on preventing falls, guidance on minimising risk and integration of fall services into multi-disciplinary one-stop shops.