The risk of an accidental fall increases rapidly with age, and higher levels are evident in people living alone, people with existing medical conditions, and people living in more deprived areas. Most falls occur within the home.
There were 3,587 admissions due to falls in 2014-15 in Devon for people aged 65 and over. The age standardised rate per 100,000 was 1763.7 in Devon, which is below the South West (1962.4), local authority comparator group (1903.5) and England (2124.6) rates. The rate is Devon is the fourth lowest in the local authority comparator group, as illustrated in figure 10.13. Within Devon rates were significantly lower in North Devon and Torridge. Rates in Devon are similar to 2013-14 levels. Rates are higher in females (2128.4) than males (1399.0) as shown in figure 10.14. Age standardised admission rates have remained consistently higher in the most deprived deprivation quintile. Rates increase sharply with age with an age-specific rate of 484.2 for persons aged 65 to 69, compared with 6146.8 for those aged 85 and over.
Figure 10.13, Emergency admission following an accidental fall for persons aged 65 and over, direct age standardised rate per 100,000, Devon Local Authority Comparator Group, 2014-15
Source: Public Health Outcomes Framework, 2016
Figure 10.14, Trend in emergency admission following an accidental fall by sex, direct age standardised rate per 100,000, Devon, 2010-11 to 2014-15
Source: Public Health Outcomes Framework, 2016