Falls Prevention - BGS & BOA Joint Statement

“We welcome the publication of the Prevention Package for Older People by the Department of Health. The Falls and Fractures commissioning standards defined in the package will promote better care and prevention of fragility fractures in older people. We particularly welcome the high priority accorded to the management of patients with hip fracture and the recognition that high quality, cost-effective care is best provided collaboratively by orthopaedic surgeons working alongside geriatricians. Falls-related injuries are the leading cause of death due to accident in older people and the single biggest killer is hip fracture. It is vital that patients with hip fracture are admitted and operated on quickly. “Given that one in ten patients who suffer a hip fracture dies within a month and a fifth never return home, preventing this injury should be a major national priority. This means that after any fall, but particularly after one causing a fragility fracture - typically wrist, upper-arm or pelvis - patients must be assessed for their need for bone-strengthening drugs, and also offered a comprehensive falls risk assessment. This multidisciplinary approach is vital. It takes account of medical conditions, strength and balance, visual impairment and medications. In addition, all older people at risk of osteoporosis should be identified and treated to reduce their chance of fall and fracture. “NICE has provided guidance on falls and on the primary and secondary prevention of osteoporosis. Together, the BOA and BGS have produced joint standards for hip fracture care and prevention, and created the National Hip Fracture Database to monitor and promote compliance with them. “These new commissioning standards are a great opportunity to galvanise Primary Care Trusts and their partners in acute hospitals to put all this into practice and hence to improve the care and prevention of osteoporotic fractures. The time to act is now." Dr Finbarr Martin, British Geriatrics Society Professor David Marsh, British Orthopaedic Association For more information and/or interviews please contact Iona-Jane Harris on 020 7608 8573 or email press@bgs.org.uk The British Geriatrics Society (BGS) is a membership association of doctors, nurses, therapists, scientists and others with a particular interest in the care of the frail older person and in promoting better health in old age. Visit www.bgs.org.uk The BGS strives to promote better understanding of the healthcare needs of older people and to share examples of best practice to ensure that older patients are treated with dignity and respect by all clinical staff they come into contact with. The BGS welcomes any healthcare professional with a particular interest in the care of older people to join the society and to benefit from its collective expertise. The BOA is the professional association for trauma and orthopaedic surgeons in the United Kingdom and those abroad who have had orthopaedic training in the UK or who show a continuing interest in the affairs of the Association. Visit www.boa.ac.uk

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