Summary
This paper covers the use of Torbay’s patient-level linked data set to investigate the costs to the NHS and social care arising from the care pathway for older people admitted to hospital due to a fall. One in three people aged over 65, and half of people aged over 80, fall at least once a year. Falls are estimated to cost the NHS more than £2 billion per year; and these costs will rise further as the population ages.
“There was evidence of significant under-coding of co-morbidities for falls patients, particularly for dementia”.
Read more: Exploring the system-wide costs of falls in older people in Torbay. The King’s Fund.
Reference
Tian, Y. Thompson, J. Buck, D [and] Sonola, L. (2013). Exploring the system-wide costs of falls in older people in Torbay. London: The King’s Fund, August 2013.
[A brief reference to this item features in Dementia and Elderly Care: the Latest Evidence Newsletter (RWNHST), Volume 3 Issue 9, August 2013].