Helping getting up from fall

[willow2220]

Hello, we have elderly parents who we do not live near, and have realised they need some kind of support service which they can call to get help getting up from a fall. Has anyone had experience of this and what is available privately? I would imagine local council services are too stretched to offer this sort of spontaneous help? It is not happening on a regular basis at the moment. They do not need daily care for normal activities it is just for help lifting from a lying on the floor position. Many thanks in advance.

A lot of councils do offer a subscription service with alarm pendants for elderly people - try googling 'careline' and the name of your local council. I think ours cost about £350 a year per person.

My parents used our local one, and they did send people out after falls, though quite often they would insist on calling paramedics to help instead if there was any hint of injury or if they thought the person on the floor was not able to put any effort into getting themselves up.

Weirdly the daytime crew had a kind of inflatable chair/cushion that was very effective at getting my mother off the floor, but if she fell after 8pm at night the night shift did not have access to this so she would spend hours on the floor waiting for paramedics.

Many Council fall alarm services rely on the family to do the getting up. The service merely alerts the family.

what I used to dowith my father is this: encourage to roll over onto front or into “recovery position” and from there to kneeling. Put chair in front of him so
he can put his arms on it to push himself up, be ready to tuck another chair behind him to sit back on to.

Speak to gp and local social services as well. We were always told to the paramedics even if no injury so they could safely get them up but that was pre covid and pre ambulance crisis.

If they are falling then the gp can refer them to the falls clinic who can assess the reasons, their mobility, safety, house situation. They can have a home assessment from the community therapists to see what equipment might help like a careline, falls mats, fall detectors, walking aids, handrails, keysafe, IME a careline alerts a nominated person or the emergency services to gain access to help someone get up but its not instant, some people are lying for hours.

Spent many years working in care and now the NHS. Paramedics should be called to help up with a fall. They often need a paramedic to check over for injuries. Carers should in no circumstance be picking people up off floors. They are not insured and they could cause further injury to the person or themselves.

Look into Careline. They will call paramedics if the user can't get to a phone.

Just had a fall alarm installed for mum but visited my elderly neighbour yesterday who has three adult children who all live in different countries not here, and her contacts are our other neighbours, I'd be happy to do it for a next door neighbour if she was struggling. Do you parents have friends locally?

Just sign them up to an alarm response service; the parents can wear a bracelet or pendant with a button to press if they need help. The button sends a signal to their landline, it dials a call centre which alerts their designated close responder ( a neighbour or friend nearby). If the responder is out/doesn't take the call, the call centre goes to the second designated responder on the list. IOW the [person who arrives in an emergency, is always a known and trusted friend or neighbour (who holds a key, obviously). The responder than decides necessary action (calling a Dr, ambulance, whatever).

My elderly lone neighbour has had this service for years and until we moved house, I was her designated responder. When we left, the number 2 stepped up to my job and another neighbour agreed to be the standby. My friend rarely needed to call for help but the real benefit ( for her, and us) was the security of knowing she was safe.

That's the standard basic service, but you can buy more complicated alarms that detect anything from a wet bed, to "no client hasn't got out of bed today".

Speak with the GP first to make sure that the actual cause of falls is investigated. Sometimes it may be due to a sudden drop in blood pressure, ear infection, dizziness etc. Community falls clinics and therapists are good and will be able to do an assessment at home/outpatient clinic. Please check that there is no blackout or memory loss. Some London community services do other Falls Pickup Service with or without PRU ( Physicians Response Unit). Careline (pendent alarm) service is also an option with a key safe to gain access. Hope it works out for you.

We gor elderly mum an alarm pendant via age concern. Think it's £16/month. We also got a key safe fitted so entry could be easily accessed in an emergency. Well worth it for peace of mind for us all including Mum

My parents subscribed to a system where they both wore alarms and pressed a button to get help when they needed it. They had to pay for this. However my mum had a habit of falling and refusing to activate her alarm. Her last fall was in the garden and she was on the floor for quite a while as she waited until she heard the neighbour and called out to them. This was followed by an emergency visit from an occupational therapist who has now fitted both parents for alarms that activate automatically if they fall. And this is free. Not sure if it's nhs, council or social services that fund it.

What a great idea! Falls prevention teams in many areas run postural stability exercise classes which should teach getting up from the floor during the classes. This is the standard technique Another option is to crawl to the stairs and then get onto the bottom step, then push yourself up onto the second and third steps until you can stand up.

You might want to think about purchasing a mangar elk or camel lifting cushion, the company offers visits prior purchase to try out the products and check which would work for them. That way it would be easier for a neighbour to help them up if necessary.

A neighbour, family or carer should not be getting people up if they have fallen unless they have lifting and handling training and experience in assessing for injuries.

My parents have a care alarm and they send a falls team out when my dad falls. Even though he's of a slight build there's no way my mum can get him up. I don't think I could either.

The only problem we've had recently is that they weren't able to come out to him when he fell at 10pm due to being short staffed. My mum had to phone 999 instead and even they took 9 hours to turn up though he was admitted to hospital on that occasion.

That sounds fine in theory, but a) many Council fall alarm systems call families in the expectation that they will get the person back on their feet b) the wait fora paramedic could be 8 hours or more.

The methods described above are for the person who has fallen to get themselves back up. Carer’s role is encouragement not physical. If a person can get themselves back up, are you still saying that they should wait fora paramedic?

There is usually a ‘falls team’ who are connected to district nurses and social services who come out and assess what you need and anything you could do to prevent falls - exercises,
equipment and so on.

Because my DF was living with us when he had advanced Parkinson’s we were lent a Mangar Elk cushion- which is what the paramedics use to safely help someone up after a fall. But there were at least two able bodied adults on the house to use i- and we were trained.

On reflection and from personal experience of trying to help a frail person up after a fall; I’ve come to the conclusion that you shouldn’t ever manhandle someone up by yourself. It looks easier than it is and with a frail person who is a deadweight it really is dangerous. If they can’t get themselves up with minimal help by rolling over and working themselves up a chair or bed to kneeling, then I’m afraid paramedics are what you will need.

My mum pays about £20 per month for a lifeline ,she wears a thing that is like a Fit But watch ,it also detects if she falls and can't press the alarm in it and calls for help automatically.

That's great, many thanks to all for the advice, it has been really helpful.