HELPING the elderly avoid falls could save Dorset millions of pounds more than anywhere else in the country.

Figures released today show a third of people who suffer a hip fracture die within a year and falls are the leading cause of accident-related mortality in older people.

But Dorset could save almost £5.7m if it invested in treatments to help prevent falls, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) says.

It says not enough money is being spent by Dorset’s Clinical Commissioning Group on preventative measures and Dorset will see an 11 percent rise in the number of care home admissions by 2020 of elderly people too frail to stay in their own homes.

The CSP says that Dorset could save almost £3m more than any other clinical commissioning group if it invested in physiotherapy because of its ageing population.

Cllr Ros Kayes, who is also part of the Dorset Health Campaign, said the council is working with Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to concentrate on prevention as part of its Better Together programme.

In some areas of West Dorset, such as Briport, elderly people make up more than 27 percent, she said.

“Elderly people might have a fall and come out of hospital to a care home and get stuck there. What we want is a really good package for them at home, with domiciliary care and equipment at home, so we can get them back to a normal life.

“My understanding is that the county council is pushing for this. With elderly care, most of the funding needs to put towards prevention.

“Lots of the problems people have are to do with issues not being picked up on well enough in advance and then they have a fall and have to go to hospital.”

The CCG says there are a number of initiatives across Dorset to help prevent falls, including a falls alert system with the local ambulance trust; specialist falls services; integrated community therapy teams that deliver exercise to improve core stability and balance; emergency department initiatives to refer fallers to appropriate services; a joint Dorset Falls and Bone Health Strategy for local providers and commissioners.

A spokesperson for NHS Dorset CCG said: “The local healthcare community recognises that falls can occur amongst people of all ages and can be very distressing to those affected. However, incidences may appear to be more prevalent across Dorset due to its demography. “We recommend that if anyone experiences a fall - which they are unable to explain the reason that they fell - that they discuss it with their GP in the first instance.

“We also recommend that healthcare professionals who are in regular contact with older people should routinely ask individuals whether they have experienced a fall in the past year and getting more information in order to find out whether they could be at increased risk of future falls”.

CSP chief executive Professor Karen Middleton said: “Falls are not an inevitable part of the ageing process - they are often avoidable and investing in services can prevent these potentially devastating accidents.

“Physiotherapists deliver services that develop strength and balance, educate people about risk factors and provide essential information on what to do if they do suffer a fall.”