Fall Prevention For Older Adults Living In Social Housing
15th October 2025
Jules Robinson,
RoSPA
We often think of our homes as places of safety and comfort. Yet, every two minutes someone in England attends A&E due to an accidental injury sustained at home. Falls are the leading cause of these injuries, and their outcomes are more severe for older adults.
Falls account for 80% of hospital admissions for accidental injury in people aged 65 and over, costing the NHS over £2.3 billion every year. However, most falls are avoidable and RoSPA is helping social housing providers take action to prevent them.
A proven model for fall prevention in social housing
Staffordshire-based social housing provider Trent & Dove piloted a model which demonstrated the power of simple, tailored interventions. Using home safety checks and visits to promote risk awareness, 161 older tenants received personalised fall prevention support and a staggering 69% reduction in falls experienced was achieved for those participants in the following year.
Home visits generated interventions but didn’t require costly renovations. Instead, they relied on existing services ranging from opticians and pharmacists, to befriending schemes and minor property adaptations - signposting effective, achievable, and sustainable solutions bespoke to the needs of each individual and their home.
RoSPA’s free toolkit is the path to success
The Fall Prevention for Social Housing Toolkit is a free resource produced by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) based on the pilot. This free toolkit for social housing providers aims to help replicate this success across the country. By embedding fall prevention advice into routine housing and wellness checks, we can reduce injuries, boost confidence, and improve quality of life for thousands of older tenants.
Recommendations for housing providers
Based on the success of the Trent & Dove pilot, RoSPA’s fall prevention toolkit offers practical guidance for housing providers. Key recommendations include:
Target high-risk groups: Focus on older tenants and those with a history of falls to achieve the greatest impact. Consider other indicators like recent installation of grabrails or moves into sheltered housing/independent living.
Tailor advice to individuals: Personalised guidance and introducing basic risk management concepts help tenants take ownership of their safety.
Offer in-person visits: Face-to-face engagement builds trust, uncovers hidden issues (like loneliness or unreported sensory impairments), and allows early intervention/support for physical, psychological, and safeguarding concerns.
Signpost community services: Connect tenants with health, wellbeing, and financial support by building strong community networks and partnerships.
Empower informed decisions: Remove barriers to information sharing and clearly communicate policies around property adaptations and downsizing.
Reframe the narrative: Help tenants see falls as avoidable by raising awareness of common causes and encouraging proactive management of environmental and health risk factors.
Building healthier homes together
The Healthy Homes Hub advocates for this model collaboration between landlords and tenants to ensure no one lives in a home that compromises their health or wellbeing.
Learn more on this topic: download RoSPA’s Fall Prevention for Social Housing Toolkit for free or visit the Fall Prevention Hub for tools to support older adults.
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