Falls continue to have devastating impacts on the lives of older Western Australians, their loved ones and the WA healthcare system.
Injury Matters’ recently released the 2025 WA Falls Report, highlighting that a Western Australian aged 65+ dies every 18 hours, is hospitalised every 23 minutes and presents to an ED every 38 minutes due to a fall.
With people aged 65+ being hospitalised due to falls at four times the rate of any other age group, spending on average over nine days in hospital due to a fall and 1 in 10 ED attendances among people 85+ being due to a fall in 2023, there is no questioning the overrepresentation of older adults in falls clinical outcomes.
In addition to collating the latest data from various sources, the annual WA Falls Report provides a valuable avenue to track the incidence of falls in WA. As displayed in the graph below, the number of older adults attending an ED due to a fall has fluctuated over the last five years, whilst the number of falls hospitalisations has had an upward trajectory. Given the incidence of hospitalisations in 2023 and WA’s ageing population, it is projected that by 2033 there will be over 10,000 additional falls admissions to WA hospitals.
Number of falls hospitalisations and ED attendances in WA, 2019 – 2023.
Falls can happen to anyone, however age-related biological changes, including changes in balance, strength, mobility, vision and cognition, can increase the risk of falls in older adults. Additionally, the common presence of co-existing medical conditions and the frequent use of medications places older adults at a heightened risk of experiencing a fall.
Fortunately, there is reason for optimism as falls are predictable and preventable. World-class research confirms the cost-effectiveness of initiatives to prevent falls in community, aged care, and clinical settings. This strong evidence base has been used to develop a number of falls prevention initiatives, including the latest Australian Best Practice Guidelines for preventing falls and harm from falls in older people.
If you are interested in building your capacity to prevent falls among older adults, be sure to engage in the variety of Stay On Your Feet® activities that Injury Matters delivers for health professionals.
Injury Matters developed the 2025 WA Falls Report with funding from the Western Australian Department of Health.