A quarter of older people keep their falls secret from family

More than a quarter of elderly people have kept a fall they had at home a secret from family and friends (26 per cent), with some believing they can deal with care issues themselves and others not wanting to admit they’re getting older or be labelled ‘vulnerable’.

A study of 2,000 people aged 65+, commissioned by the Connected Care Platform provider Anthropos, were asked why they kept it secret, with 26 per cent saying they can deal with any care issue themselves, 16 per cent don’t want to be labelled ‘vulnerable’ and 18 per cent don’t want to acknowledge they’re getting older.

Almost a third (29 per cent) of people aged 65+ have hidden their need for any type of care support from loved ones.

Secrets kept to avoid 'burdening' family

Thirty-nine per cent admitted they would keep their feelings a secret from loved ones to avoid burdening them.

These secrets aren’t just limited to falls; the other most common issues are reduced mobility, changes in toilet habits, forgetfulness, sleeping difficulties and loss of balance.

Jim Patience, chief executive of Anthropos, which focuses on passive falls detection without the use of wearable devices, said: “Considering there are 11 million people aged 65 and over, the research really brings home just how widespread these issues are. If we extrapolated these numbers across the whole of the UK, it could indicate that every year around 2.6 million people fall, with 686,000 people not telling anyone about it.

“It fits into the wider pattern we’ve found that so many older people are hiding care concerns. We hope adults of all ages consider how these findings may support gentle, sensitive conversations with the older people in their lives about all care matters, from falls to forgetfulness.”

Falls among 65+ cause over 22,000 emergency hospital admissions a year

Nearly a quarter of those who have fallen said it was due to reduced mobility, with joint pain (13 per cent) and objects on the floor (11 per cent) being the next two top contributors to accidents.

A government report recently revealed the annual cost of fragility fractures following 'lower force' falls, is estimated to be £4.4 billion. Every year there are over 22,000 emergency hospital admissions resulting from falls among people over the age of 65, according to Public Health Outcomes Framework.

Despite trying to keep it a secret, a fifth of people admitted their family and friends had realised what they were doing. Of this group, 83 per cent said they felt a weight had been lifted off their shoulders after telling family members their secret.