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older male sitting in a gym setting, holding a medicine ball
Published: 19 Sep 2024

More than 100 clinicians, aged care providers, community members and academics will gather in Ballina on Friday to learn how they can support older people in Northern NSW.

The NSW Falls Preventions and Healthy Ageing Network Rural Forum, which will be held at Ballina RSL on Friday 20 September, will bring together key stakeholders as they try to solve some of the complex issues affecting older Australians.

Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) Director Nursing and Midwifery,  Katharine Duffy said older people were disproportionately represented among hospital inpatients.

“People aged over 65 account for nearly 50 per cent of overnight hospital stays, yet are 24 per cent of our population,” Ms Duffy said.

“Locally, our clinicians are reporting that older people are presenting with higher levels of co-morbidity and functional decline than has been seen in the past.”

The NSW Falls Prevention and Healthy Ageing Network Rural Forum is supported by the NSW Health Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) and Neuroscience Research Australia.

Professor Cathie Sherrington, Senior Principal Research Fellow at University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, is one of Australia’s leading Falls researchers, and will be attending and presenting at the event.

“The Forum features presentations on the Australian Falls Prevention guidelines, Healthy North Coast’s Healthy Ageing Strategy, how to prevent falls in aged care, early detection of delirium for carers in hospital settings, safe mobilisation, healthy ageing activities and stories from local people,” Professor Sherrington said.

Rotarian and local community member, Bob Barnes and his son David Barnes have been working in partnership with the NSW Falls Prevention and Healthy Ageing Network, the Clinical Excellence Commission, NNSWLHD and Rotarians across the district to support falls prevention. Father and son are both presenting at the Rural Falls Forum.

“It burdens me to tell you that my own dear wife, Helen, had a fall during the night. It’s unsettling to be in your pyjamas at 3am with paramedics in your bedroom.

“I speak on behalf of the older generations of Aussies and to help get a message to Australia; falls are a major issue,” Bob said.

In 2021 the cost to the NSW health system from falls by older people in the community was around $752 million. These costs are projected to grow to $1.09 billion by 2041 – the result of around 60,300 hospitalised falls projected for that year.

Falls account for the highest health system costs for injury and are more than double that of road trauma.

“There is strong evidence that falls can be reduced by up to 34 per cent within 12 months when there is coordinated action on fall prevention. Bringing people together at the Rural Falls Forum in Ballina is one way to coordinate action on falls prevention in our community, in our hospitals and aged care facilities,” Ms Duffy said.