Firefighters should be sent to make pensioners’ homes safe in a bid to ease the flood of elderly people being treated in hospitals for falls, the chief executive of NHS England has said. Simon Stevens said more and more older people were turning up in hospitals with preventable injuries because the support provided to them in their homes was “breaking down”. Over the past 14 years, he said, there has been a 124 per rise in admissions to hospital for one day or less which cannot be explained simply by an increase in the number of old people. Currently councils are legally required to carry out an assessment of anyone who may require support when they become aware of their need and provide basic support. While some model councils do have “handyman” services that offer old free labour to make their home safer or perform small DIY jobs around the house many argue that they lack the money to pay for such a comprehensive service. Speaking at the Local Government Association conference Mr Stevens said the NHS needs to get its “act together” and make the “practical” changes which would allow people who are already out in communities to help keep older people safe in their homes and out of hospital.

The fire service offered a “fantastic opportunity” to assess old people’s home for possible dangers at the same time as they carried out their more traditional roles such as checking smoke alarms, he added. The huge increase in short hospital admissions was not down to “whole bunch of frail or older people” tripping over on the pavement and breaking bones but represented a fundamental failing in the care they were being offered before they turned up at hospitals, he suggested. He said: “This tells us that something at the interface that we are all providing to people in their own home is kind of breaking down and that is why you are seeing this 124 per cent increase. “The things are going wrong, that are contributing to that big increase in short emergency admissions, are the things we can potentially put right – and as we do that we have to expand some of our definitions. “In the NHS the definition of an avoidable admission doesn’t include falls prevention and yet I think there are 250,000 older people admitted to hospital every year having fallen at home. “

If you are the local fire service and you are doing a home visit to check on smoke alarms there is just a fantastic opportunity, but do we think about that in the round, does the NHS think about how to fund and support that – no it doesn’t. handyman in new haven ct“These are the kind of practical things that if we got our act together we could make an impact on.” handyman service darwinHis comments came as he announced billions of pounds of health service and town hall budgets are now to be handed over to the most vulnerable patients to purchase health and social care services in the community. business for sale pai thailandIn a significant policy change frail elderly people, disabled children and people will serious learning difficulties or mental illness will be offered a pot of money to spend on health professionals in an attempt to keep them out of hospital.business for sale 34102

of 281results12345NextDidn't find what you were looking for?magnifying glassCreate an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about.business for sale tombstone az Home Government Departments Firebusiness for sale muizenberg Register a Private Ambulance Service Access FFD Insurance Rating Find a Fire Station Make a Public Information Request Schedule a Birthday Party Schedule a Visit from a Fire Truck or Ambulance Visit Frisco Fire Safety TownThe requested URL /DisplayArticle.php?ArticleID=11895 was not found on this server.Firefighters have elevated risk for PTSD, cancer, new study finds Click ahead to see some of America's most dangerous jobs. Average median salary: $30,890 Growth outlook: 13 percent

Average median salary: $40,580 Growth outlook: 4 percent Average median salary: $31,980 Growth outlook: 24 percent Average median salary: $64,170 Growth outlook: -2 percent Average median salary: $46,870 Growth outlook: 5 percent Average median salary: $25,710 Growth outlook: 17 percent Average median salary: $60,270 Average median salary: $23,510 Heavy & tractor-trailer truck driver Average median salary: $40,260 Average median salary: $88,490 Growth outlook: 9 percent Firefighters experience post-traumatic stress disorder at rates similar to combat veterans, according to a new report released Tuesday by the International Association of Fire Fighters. While firefighters aren't surrounded by warfare as combat veterans are, elements of the daily job can be difficult to deal with. The sheer volume of calls, the nature of the job and the possibility of losing a colleague in the line of duty can be difficult to handle, said Alvin White, president of the Houston Fire Fighters Association.

Almost 20 percent of firefighters and paramedics had PTSD, the report said, compared to the general population's rate of 3.5 percent. Another study found almost half of surveyed firefighters in Florida had considered suicide and 15.5 percent had made attempts. Firefighters also face a higher risk of dying from cancer compared to the general population, according to the report. "In fact, the number-one cause of death among firefighters is not from the fire itself, but from the occupational exposures to the toxins and carcinogens at the fire scene and exposure to diesel exhaust," the report said. White doesn't think the rate of PTSD has increased necessarily, but instead thinks awareness of the issue has gotten better, following 9/11. Prior to the terrorist attack in 2001,  PTSD wasn't something that was tracked efficiently, White said, but rather something handled at the fire station. "Guys tried to take care of each other at the fire stations," he said. "Little did we know we had a real issue."