Tuesday 7 May 2024: Would you know how to help someone if they had a fall?

Leading national first aid and healthcare charity St John Ambulance is encouraging local people to attend a free training session on how to assist someone who has had a fall in their own home or in the community. Falls can be life-threatening or life-changing for the elderly and the aim of this training is to help reduce A&E admissions by giving people the skills to assist people in their own home, in the street or wherever the fall has happened.

The “Falls Hypercentre”, where the training will take place, is at Ilkeston Football Club at the New Manor Ground on Awsworth Road (postcode DE7 8JF) on Wednesday 22 May between 10am and 1.30pm and will form a pilot scheme with the aim of rolling out this training in the future in other locations around the country. The training is free and will cover a number of areas including how to use specialised lifting equipment if this is available at the time of the incident.

Jade Quittenton, St John’s Programme Manager who is spearheading this training, said: “Falls are a community health emergency, particularly in a country where we have an ageing demographic. We know this free training will be of particular interest to those with elderly relatives, friends and neighbours, and those who care for people who are particularly prone to falls due to other underlying health conditions, and we hope that local people will spare some time to learn some effective techniques that can be used in such an emergency.”