Every week in Anglican Care facilities, exercise programs are helping keep residents safe

About 30% of people aged over 65 fall each year in NSW, with 37% of injury-related deaths being caused by falls.

According to the NSW Fall Prevention and Healthy Ageing Network, regular exercise reduces falls by 23%.

It’s one of the reasons Anglican Care has strengthened its exercise programs.

Director of Assurance Melissa Cromarty says the multi-pronged approach also focused on enhancing quality care and education.

“We looked at increasing exercise programs because we know that movement, strength, and stability
are key in keeping people safe,” Melissa says.

“We also do a practice called intentional rounding. It’s not just going and doing a task – it’s what is behind that task.

“Does the person I’m supporting have their call bell? Do they need to go to the toilet? Have they got their walker with them? Is their buzzer handy?

“It’s intentional and, without even knowing, we’re mitigating risk.”

April Falls Month is an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of falls and to promote the latest best practice fall prevention strategies.

This year’s theme is ‘Let’s talk about falls – staying safe starts with a chat’.

It aims to break the stigma around talking about falls to help Australians access appropriate care and begin early interventions.

“What we see is when people have a fall, it takes months to help them build confidence again to get back to where they were,” she says.

“So, if we’re preventing that and keeping people confident, we’re keeping people safe, we’re keeping people mobile, and we’re keeping them independent.

“I think that’s one of the key things that sets us apart as a leader in the industry.

“We’re looking to keep people as independent as we can while keeping them safe.”

Anglican Care facilities will be hosting a number of activities and events throughout April Falls Month.