Reinforcing the frequent and growing impact that falls has on the WA community, Injury Matters is proud to release the 2023 Western Australian Falls Report.
The Report provides a number of WA statistics, including that;
- A Western Australian died every 19 hours in 2020, was hospitalised every 15 minutes in 2021 and attended the emergency department every 11 minutes in 2021 due to a falls-related injury.
- The 33,252 falls-related hospitalisations in 2021 resulted in 255,372 hospital bed days and cost an estimated $310,987,115.
- On average 7.7 days was spent in hospital per falls-related admission in 2021.
- Females experienced a higher rate of falls-related hospitalisations and emergency department attendances than males in 2021.
- Residents in regional WA continue to experience a high burden of falls, with the highest rate of falls-related hospital admissions recorded in the Kimberley.
Being the fifth edition of this annual publication, the Report highlights a number of trends regarding the incidence of falls-related fatalities, hospitalisations and emergency department attendances across the state.
In addition to the rising total incidence of falls-related injuries, the concerning frequency of falls among our older adult population is apparent throughout this Report. There is no questioning that without coordinated action across all sectors and additional investment in falls prevention initiatives, we will continue to see increases in the number of falls-related fatalities, hospitalisations and emergency department presentations in WA.
Within the publication Injury Matters makes a number of recommendations to enhance WA’s falls prevention initiatives, including the need to;
- translate evidence into accessible activities to support high-risk populations,
- provide subsidised strength and balance classes for older adults,
- implement the Ironbark program in WA,
- conduct additional legislative action to reduce alcohol-related harms,
- prioritise the adoption of falls pathways within all WA hospitals and emergency departments, and
- support and upskill health professionals to identify and refer individuals at high risk of falls to appropriate falls prevention services and activities.
Injury Matters encourages you to access the 2023 WA Falls Report to understand the incidence of falls in WA, share it amongst your networks and work with us to reduce the impact that falls has on the WA community.
Injury Matters developed the 2023 WA Falls Report with funding from the Western Australian Department of Health, via the Stay On Your Feet® program.