Call for greater Government funding after falls result in more than 8,000 patients admitted into Boston, Lincoln, King’s Lynn, Peterborough and Stamford hospitals

A group is on a mission to improve mobility among older people – after shocking new figures revealed that thousands of patients have been admitted to hospitals in our area as a result of falls.

Roseanna Mackay, of Adults Move Lincolnshire, visits care homes in Spalding, Grantham, Lincoln and Sleaford to run cognitive seated exercise classes in a bid to improve fitness levels and stamina for residents.

The personal trainer teaches different routines which sometimes feature sensory props such as pom poms, silk scarves, bells and music to get residents motivated and to put smiles on their faces — but there’s a serious message too.

A Freedom of Information request by Lincs Online revealed that more than 8,000 patients required hospital treatment in 2023 after suffering a fall - which has prompted calls for the Government to push more money into activities to help older people to ease the pressures faced by the cash-strapped NHS.

However, one of the biggest setbacks the team faces is the lack of funding care homes receive in order to hold workshops and activities.

Roseanna said: “Older adults need to keep moving – if you don’t use your muscles they will deteriorate and it will be a lot harder to use them, and that’s why these classes are so important.

“I love what I do and find it very rewarding but, the biggest issue we face is a lot of care homes don’t get enough funding to be able to hold the activities we have on offer.

“That is our biggest set back and it’s sad. It’s never that the care homes don’t want us there – they love it, but it all comes down to if they have the money to do it.”

The data obtained by this website highlights the shocking number of patients who were admitted to the hospitals that serve South Lincolnshire as a result of falls.

In 2023, 8,562 patients in total were admitted to The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn, Peterborough City Hospital, Rutland and Stamford and United Lincolnshire Hospitals (which includes Lincoln, Grantham and Boston sites).

The figures for 2023 — the most up to date numbers available — show that The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn saw 761 falls patients, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust saw 2,658 patients and United Lincolnshire Hospital NHS Trust had 5,143 patients that year due to falls.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has estimated that the cost of falls to the NHS amounts to more than £2.3 billion every year – which means they spend more than £6 million each day on tackling such issues.

Chair of Lincolnshire Care Association, Melanie Weatherley, believes in order for care homes to receive extra funding to hold these activities, evidence would need to display how the classes could prevent falls.

She explained: “Care homes which are funded by the state are given an amount of money which doesn't change – they do have an obligation to provide an activity programme, and it could be possible to change that to include seated exercise classes, but not in the short term because homes have already accepted their budget.

“If you are a care home that is supporting people whose family can’t afford any extra’s, they will only be given the basic fee from the local authority.

“If every care home could afford to do this frequently, it would probably reduce the amount of people who fall and end up in hospital.

“It is something that would be worth investing in, but it would need to come from a local and therefore national government.

“It bids the question – does this kind of exercise make you less likely to fall and if it does, there could be a lot of money saved compared to the cost of falls.

“This is a good investment for commissioners of care to think about, because the return of the investment could be huge.”

The NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board was asked by this website if there are any initiatives being done locally to improve the number of patients being admitted to hospital, as a result of falls.

They provided information submitted by fall prevention groups in the county in September. East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), states it is working with system partners and other healthcare services to provide a timely response to patients who have fallen.

Lincolnshire Integrated Voluntary Emergency Service (LIVES), welcomed two new colleagues with specialist backgrounds in frailty, and is set to roll out a new electronic patient report form which would be forwarded to the patients doctor – allowing them to have a full understanding of the fall.

The Lincolnshire based charity said they were in the early stages of a project to train and equip fall responders to be able to treat skin tears and intermediate wound closure – reducing the need for ambulance attendance and unnecessary hospital admissions.

Bekki Loveridge, founder of Adults Move Lincolnshire, expressed how passionate the community group feels about helping people get fit. She said: “Myself and Roseanna are both incredibly passionate about getting older adults moving in a way they wouldn’t normally, so they can benefit from healthy ageing and fall prevention.

“It’s something really simple people can do to improve the recovery time of any illness and fall – and movement does also help the immune system.”

Roseanna added: “Seeing the smiles on residents faces and helping them move when they probably haven't moved that morning, just makes a change to their day to day lives.

“One of the residents I visited was unable to move. Carers had to hoist her into a chair because she couldn’t walk. During the session she smiled and wiggled her fingers – her carers later told me it was the first time in months they had seen the lady smile and interact with something like that.

“That is the rewarding part of it that makes me enjoy it so much.”

Bekki has recently started a new socialise and mobilise group in Spalding, Pinchbeck and Fleet Hargate. The Spalding session takes place every Wednesday at the Sezanne Walk Community Centre, between 11am and 12pm.

The new initiative has been supported by South Holland District Council — which has worked with Bekki to offer a fun, playful, engaging exercise class that also improves social interaction between older adults.

She added: “If someone has had a fall in the past, these sessions can help the individual re-connect with their body and find the confidence to move and build up their strength gently with professionals who understand the anatomy and issues associated with ageing – we want them to feel like they’re not forgotten.”

For further details on any of the Adult Move Lincolnshire groups, visit their website or Facebook page. Alternatively you can contact Bekki on 07833 606051.