12 July 2016
Green light for falls prevention programme
A major national community falls prevention programme for people aged over65 which was developed by the joint
AucklandWaitemata DHB Funding team was given the official goahead today.
The programme will see the Government invest $30.5 million over the next four years in supporting better outcomes for
older people atrisk of a fall or injury.
It is the product of the two DHBs working closely with ACC to develop a new national model for improving the
availability of falls and injury prevention initiatives.
“Once people reach 65, their risk of suffering a fall begins to increase. The impacts can be significant in terms of
fallrelated injuries, lossofconfidence and social engagement,” said Auckland DHB CEO Ailsa Claire.
“This is about minimising the risk of falls by identifying key risks before they occur and then making appropriate
interventions to protect the health of our older Kiwis.”
Waitemata DHB CEO Dr Dale Bramley said: “It is fantastic that our joint funding team has played a prominent role in
developing a new model with the potential to bring about such positive, farreaching change for many people and their
families.
“It’s also a great example of our DHBs using our combined knowledge and skills to take a national leadership role in a
complex area of health care where, unfortunately, demand for treatment continues to grow.”
The evidencebased model will see additional funding made available for:
Individual inhome strength and balance exercise programmes
Community group strength and balance programmes
Home Care Support Service involvement in delivery of inhome falls prevention
Home safety assessment and intervention
Treatment of osteoporosis in people with fragility fractures
ACC receives around 150,000 claims per year due to fallrelated injuries, costing $163 million from people in the over65
age group.
This is expected to keep growing, along with the general population, and the cost of claims could be as high as $418
million by 2025 without the types of interventions announced today.
Ends