How many hazards are in your home that can be removed to prevent a fall or even a stay in
hospital?

That’s the question being asked by the Greenbushes CRC, with the release of the Stay On
Your Feet ® Home Safety Checklist. The checklist aims to combat the near 50% of falls each year which happen in the home and immediate surroundings including the garden.

One in three adults over 65 years will fall each year.

"Unfortunately, falls continue to be the leading cause of injuries requiring hospitalisation in
Australia’, says Emily Anderson, A/Manager Falls Prevention Programs.

"Using a tool such as the Home Safety Checklist can be a great way to start to look for unexpected hazards in and around the home”

Staff from both the Greenbushes Community Aged Care and the Community Resource Centre have welcomed the Checklist. It is quickly becoming a conversation starter with
residents who may be at risk of slips, trips and falls.

The checklist points out ways to look for and remove hazards in and around the home that
may cause a slip, trip or fall. Poor lighting, uneven floors or garden paths and un-stored garden tools are common hazards. These are easy to remove or change to make your home safer and keep you on your feet!

The checklist is being released as part of the Move Improve Remove campaign; Make Your
Home Safer, which began in February. “Make Your Home Safer” focuses on how you and
your family, friends and neighbours, can remove hazards from in and around the home to
prevent a slip, trip or fall.

The face of Make Your Home Safer, is devoted DIYer and retired cabinet maker, Joe  Gurgone. He makes his home safer by removing power cords off the floor and removing tall tools like shovels and ladders from pathways.

“I try and keep the garden and shed tidy but the Home Safety Checklist helped me remove
hazards inside the house that I hadn’t realised may cause me to have a fall.”

I’m not as fit as I used to be. I’ve had some trouble with my knees. I keep everything so that
it’s easy to reach so I don’t have to bend my knees.

If a fall does occur, Stay On Your Feet ® has released two free Up Off The Floor posters
which explain step by step how you can safely get up after a fall or what you need to do until help arrives.

If you would like a free copy of the Home Safety Checklist, Up Off The Floor posters
or other information about how you can prevent slips, trips or falls, please contact Stay On Your Feet ® on 1300 30 35 40 or email info@stayonyourfeet.com.au
.
Stay On Your Feet® would like to remind you that if you do have a slip, trip or fall to report it to your GP.

Media Contact:
Megan DePiazz, 0415 626 306 or 9420 7212, mdepiazz@iccwa.org.au