In April 2021, the expected number was 19,539 while the actual number was 20,812. In December 2020, when the tiered lockdown system was introduced, with strict restrictions placed on hospitality businesses and with most locations initially placed in tiers two and three, the expected number of falls was 20,434 and the actual number was 20,193.įollowing the exit from lockdown, the ONS analysis shows that the actual number of falls rose.

Meanwhile, in November 2020 during the second national lockdown, the expected number of falls was 19,418 while the actual number was 18,500. However, by July 2020, when there were minimal lockdown restrictions, the figure rose again from the expected number of 19,817 falls to the actual number of 20,107. In May 2020 there were 19,988 expected falls, while the actual number was 20,37,7 and in June 2020 the expected number of falls was 19,228 and the actual number was 19,652. In April 2020, the expected number was 18,442 and the actual number was 15,600. In March 2020, which marked the first national lockdown, the expected number of fall episodes was 10,067 but the actual number was 16,133. “It also reminds us of the harms of social isolation for this group more generally and the need for public health interventions to maintain social connections and physical independence as people age.” We might, for example, focus on support mechanisms during periods of national lockdown, or look at exercise and rehabilitation programmes to help them recover after lockdown is over. The researchers said that this pattern may indicate “ an increase in vulnerability of frail individuals to falls and fractures because of the social isolation, immobility, cognitive decline and physical deconditioning that may have been experienced” during the lockdowns.Ĭommenting on the data, Adam Gordon, professor of care of older people at the University of Nottingham and president of the British Geriatrics Society, said: “The study results tell us that, when planning for future pandemics, we need to give special consideration to older people living with frailty. Levels peaked in May 2020 during the first national lockdown, and immediately following the second and third national lockdowns in November 2020 and January 2021. The ONS said that the number of fall and fracture episodes consistently exceeded expected levels throughout the observation period, with the exception of February 2021. They also found that the number of hospital episodes involving fractures returned to expected levels more slowly for pension and older-aged patients than for younger age groups, suggesting a lifestyle change or “greater hesitance for older age groups to return to daily activities or to present themselves at hospital” for fear of potentially increasing their risk of exposure to coronavirus. Researchers found that overall, the number of such incidents was generally lower than expected during the periods of national lockdown which began in March 2020, but “rapidly increased and exceeded projected levels when national lockdown measures were lifted”. The data comes in a newly published report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which details figures for hospital episodes involving falls and fractures in England between 20. The number of falls needing hospital treatment rose after lockdown restrictions were lifted, Government data reveal, raising fears that old people had become frail while isolating.

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