Pedestrian falls on dangerous pavements potentially cost taxpayers up to £500m a year, a new report has revealed.
Published by walking charity Living Streets, Pedestrian Slips, Trips and Falls found that around a third of people aged 65 and over, and around half of people aged 80 and over, fall at least once a year.
Drawing on local authority surveys, interviews with highway officers and other sources, the report estimated that 10% of people over 65 will fall outside, which means there could be as many as a million outdoor falls among older adults in England each year.
Nearly one in three (31%) older adults are put off from walking because they worry that they will fall on uneven and poorly maintained pavements, with half (48%) saying they would walk more if pavements were better maintained.
Older people are disproportionately affected by falls. Around 30% of people older than 65 and 50% of people older than 80 fall at least once a year. This has been estimated to cost the NHS more than £2.3bn per year.
The charity recommends investing over £1.6bn to fix pavements across the country, a figure derived from research commissioned by the Department of Transport (DfT). They estimate this investment could lead to reductions in health and social care costs of up to £500m a year.
The report acknowledges that the £500m figure is based on research in Torbay, which is not representative of England as a whole.
Author of the report, Dr Rachel Lee, policy and research manager, Living Streets said: ‘Poor pavements have a real cost with hospital admissions due to trips and falls placing a huge burden on NHS and local authority budgets.
‘Prevention is better than cure. We need to prioritise funding for safe and hazard-free pavements, so older people can enjoy the health and social benefits that come from walking.’
