Siam Spencer 7:22 a.m., Feb 22, 2022, amended at 7:22 a.m., Feb 22, 2022
The government announced a plan on Monday to limit falls among the elderly.
And for good reason, according to the Ministry Delegate for Autonomy, 10,000 seniors die each year because of a bad fall.
The objective of this plan is therefore to reduce them by 20% within three years.
REPORT
The government unveiled its plan on Monday to limit falls among the elderly with the aim of reducing them by 20% within three years.
Every year in France, 10,000 of them die because of a bad fall, according to the Ministry for Autonomy.
The study by the Assurance Prévention association shows that 50% of seniors have already fallen at home and that only 16% have adapted their accommodation to prevent this risk.
Europe 1 went to meet one of these seniors, fallen, in recent months.
"The fear of falling takes hold of you and it doesn't let go. I'm afraid of staying on the ground and I'm afraid of breaking something," said Monique, 80, with a sigh.
In his apartment in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, the furniture is almost all glued to the walls.
Walls she clings to to move from one room to another when she is dizzy, because of heart problems.
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His last fall was three months ago.
"My husband made me fall but he is blind. He put the cane across me, that's how I fell" she explains.
Because of this fall, a broken rib, and an open arch.
His arch is healed but his rib still hurts.
Alone at home, no choice, you have to arrange
Her husband also fell regularly.
Monique, who was no longer physically able to take care of him, preferred to let him go to nursing home.
She is now alone in her home.
She says she feels trapped in her home but wants to stay there.
So she arranges it as best she can.
The first step, when doing with the means at hand, is to remove the carpets.
"I removed everything that could cause me to fall. Look, I removed all the carpets so as not to trip over them".
She shifted some furniture, found a ploy to get up in her kitchen by helping herself with the edge of her sink.
Difficulties in bearing the costs of development work
However, it is impossible for her to fit out her entire apartment with ramps.
For example, she can no longer wash herself properly, and washes herself with wipes, because she can no longer get into her shower.
"And I can't do any work, if I had to make sure to fit out my apartment so that it would be suitable, everything would have to be destroyed and everything redone. It's overpriced".
These changes are essential: an elderly person who has already fallen is 20 times more likely to fall again.
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A five-pronged government plan
The government's anti-fall plan for the elderly therefore revolves around five major points: better identification and warning of the risks of falling, adapting one's accommodation, helping with mobility, preventing hospitalizations through physical activity and strengthening the home assistance.
To develop the homes of the elderly, the Ministry of Autonomy also wants to promote technical aids through its future platform "Ma Prime Adapt'".
A platform that will be launched in 2022 and will then merge with existing aid.