We used a rope to pull him up..Preventing Falls

Quoted from a carer who wishes to remain anonymous, from Cornwall

He fell over! After four hours on the floor, he wasn’t moving and there was no ambulance on its way. They were extremely busy that day and couldn’t manage. She (the carer) didn’t want to make any further fuss and he (the cared for) is a stubborn mule and he will make her life hell if she makes any more of a fuss.

So she waited and knew that soon the domiciliary care would be arriving and between them, they could try and get him up.

The scene:

They are in the garden and he fell between the greenhouse and the steps. It wasn’t the text book fall (they never are), of course, he landed in the most awkward place possible. He was on his back, he is a weak man and very immobile. She was worried that he kept banging his head backwards every time he tried to rock and roll to a sit. So she uses a compost bag under the back of his head to use as a pillow.

He lay there for four hours and in the end, a carer came. Between them they put a rope around a post and tied it to him, the carer got behind him and she got in front of him to counterbalance him. They heaved (like the giant turnip story), heaved and heaved. One would push, the other pull and eventually, they pulled him up high enough to whip a chair under his bottom.

A rope!

In the perfect world this shouldn’t happen… but this is the real world and this happens all the time, and far worse.

A long lie can kill. We can’t stop everyone falling but we can educate and promote strength and teach people the techniques to thrive in later life. We can reduce the risk of falls.

That is why we encourage everyone to think about their balance, their strength and remain as active as possible, for as long as possible. We are all getting older, how quickly is up to you.  Preventing falls is what we do.