The consequences of suffering a fall in the community can be severe both for the person who is injured as well their family, particularly when the injured person is older. Injuries such as fragility fractures or functional decline caused by a fall often result in a need for greater care and support, greatly impacting an older person’s quality of life, with repercussions for family and friends.
To this end, the Scottish Government has published a Framework for Action that identifies and describes how the health and social care sectors can effectively prevent falls and manage the consequences when falls occur.
Achieving a Minimum Standard of Care
An older person can expect a standard of care from the health and social care services to prevent them suffering falls in the community. The Framework identifies actions that are to be carried out to ensure this standard is met.
These include:
- Making sure up-to-date information on the prevention of falls and the prevention of harm from falls is made available to older people;
- For individuals at high risk of falls and/or fragility fractures to be identified and offered assessments to help them prevent future injuries;
- For there to be a standard operating procedure for responding to an individual who has just fallen, whether or not they sustain injuries; and,
- To provide assistance for those that need it within one hour of being alerted to the fall.
These preventative steps and attempts to manage the consequences when falls do occur aim to support health and social care services as well as providing peace of mind for older people and their families. They represent the minimum standard of care an older person should expect to receive, regardless of where and when they contact someone for support.
Suffering a Fall
If you or someone you know has suffered an injury caused by a trip or fall, it may be possible to claim compensation if the accident was caused by someone else’s negligence.
Contact our specialist team of personal injury solicitors at McCarthy Law for help and advice on 0141 337 6678 or email us at enquiries@mccarthylaw.co.uk