NRS Healthcare has reached a milestone in the number of staff completing Fall Fighter Awareness training.

More than 700 employees have now undertaken The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) accredited course since it was introduced to the company in August 2022.

It was initially an optional course, but due to its success, is now mandatory for all NRS staff who visit our service users’ homes, to complete training.

Simon Jones, Head of Health, Safety and Environment at NRS, said:

“We are delighted that 700 employees have taken the time to educate themselves on the simple ways that falls can be prevented at home and raise awareness to protect our most vulnerable. Thank you to everyone who has got involved and continues to support this programme. It’s a brilliant result.”

According to RoSPA, falls are the single biggest cause of accidental injuries in the home and sadly, the largest cause of accidental detail among over 65s in the UK.

They have a huge impact on people’s lives – from physical injuries and death, long-term health effects and disabilities to trauma and poor mental health, loss of mobility, loneliness, social isolation and independence. They also impact on society, costing the NHS and wider healthcare systems more than £4 billion per year.

By empowering people of all ages to understand why falls happen, who they affect and what they can do to prevent them, falls can be prevented.

The Fall Fighter training programme, forms part of NRS Healthcare’s Learning Academy, and is available to all staff, helping them provide a better service to those we support across the country.

NRS Healthcare has been featured in articles and used as case studies by RoSPA highlighting its successful uptake of training. This includes articles in The RoSPA Journal latest edition, which was published in February.