Accidental falls are quite common among the elderly. They are not only traumatic to the individual, but also costly for society.
One in three people over 65 years of age suffer at least one fall a year. Half of all individuals who suffer a fall are predisposed to suffer repeated incidents. Women fall more often than men. In around five per cent of all cases, the fall results in a fracture, usually of the wrist, hip or back. One in ten falls leads to severe injuries. Many of these are difficult to heal, and far too many lead to long-term disability. Fall incidents represent around 20-30 per cent of all injury-related hospitalisations.
According to forskning.no, a hip fracture in an elderly woman, ‘above and beyond the pain and suffering and impaired quality of life experienced by the individual, costs the health care system close to £ 90,000 in expenses for hospital treatment and rehabilitation.’ The Norwegian Safety Forum (www.skafor.org) has calculated that medical costs associated with a hip fracture average about £ 33,000 while the municipality’s social services expenses run around £ 20,000. According to the non-profit organisation, prevention not only helps the public sector save a large amount of money, it helps individuals avoid a considerable amount of pain and suffering: ‘Prevention of falls is a prudent investment – in both reduced costs and improved quality of life.’
A few simple measures is all that is required. Our proprietary Gripo support pole can make a big difference in people’s lives, providing a secure, stable support for everyday tasks. Gripo is a sturdy, flexible supportive aid that helps you stand up and move around the house. The support pole is suitable for any home and is portable and easy to install. You can read more about Gripo here.
At Hepro, preventing falls has been a big part of our mission for many years. We supply a number of products and solutions designed to make everyday living simpler and safer for individuals who are at a higher risk of injuries. While safety is always the top priority, our innovative design team also focuses on your comfort, well-being and peace-of-mind to ensure you get the maximal enjoyment from your purchase.
For example, our proprietary lift chairs are equipped with a lift mechanism that makes them sturdier, safer and more stable. A gentle, assistive ‘push’ helps you get up out of the chair so that you can perform your everyday activities. We believe that self-sufficiency is one of the most important factors when it comes to quality of life. You can read more about our lift chairs here.
Our ergonomic chairs are both sturdy and functional. They are high-quality products that you’ll enjoy many years of use from. The chairs are safe, have easily accessible control levers and come with a variety of options to adjust the seating for improved comfort. You can read more about them here.
Today, several advanced solutions are available for digital monitoring. This provides unprecedented opportunities for creating safer, worry-free living conditions both for users, family members and health care workers. We collaborate with several of the leading global companies in this area and offer reputable products such as Nattugla (NightOwl) from Easymeeting, for anonymised, effective supervision of residents in nursing homes, sheltered housing facilities and private homes. The solutions are designed to promote independence, empowerment and enhanced quality of life.
The mobile safety alarm can also send an alert if a user suffers a fall incident elsewhere in the home. The safety alarm is inconspicuously disguised as an attractive bracelet or necklace but is equipped with an integrated passive alert fall sensor.
We also supply several types of motion sensors for a number of different applications. These can for example be mounted under patients’ beds in health care institutions or be installed in the home to alert caregivers that a user has been inactive for a prolonged period of time.
The motion sensor is a passive alert device; in other words, it automatically sends a signal to health care personnel whenever an alert is triggered.
“You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.”
G. B. Shaw
