What to do when an elderly parent falls

The instinct is to pull the person up straight away. Resist it for a minute. Lifting someone who has broken a hip or hit their head can make the injury worse, and lifting the wrong way can injure your own back.

Ask them to stay where they are while you check them, and talk to them calmly. If they are on a cold floor, cover them with a blanket or towel and put a pillow under their head while you check.

Call an ambulance (108 or 112) or take them to hospital if any of these apply. They hit their head and take blood thinners. They are confused, drowsy, vomiting or have a headache after hitting their head. They cannot move a leg or put weight on it, or one leg looks shorter or turned outward, which can mean a hip fracture. They have severe pain anywhere, especially in the hip, wrist, back or neck.

Also get emergency help if there is new weakness on one side of the body, slurred speech or a drooping face, which are signs of a stroke that may have caused the fall. The same applies to chest pain, breathlessness, a racing heartbeat or fainting just before the fall, or if they were on the floor for a long time before being found.

If you are not sure, it is safer to get them checked. Older adults can have a fracture with surprisingly little pain, and bleeding inside the head can show up hours later.

If there are no warning signs and they feel able, help them get up in stages under their own strength rather than lifting them. This is the method physiotherapists teach.

First, they roll onto their side and push up onto their hands and knees. They crawl to a sturdy chair or the bed and place both hands on the seat. They bring their stronger leg forward with the foot flat on the floor, in a half-kneeling position. Then they push up with their arms and front leg, turn and sit on the chair, and rest before standing.

Your job is to steady the chair, guide and encourage, not to take their weight. If they cannot get up this way, do not force it. Keep them warm and comfortable and call for help.

Watch for new confusion, drowsiness, headache, vomiting or pain that is getting worse, and seek medical care if any appear. A wrist or hip that hurts more the next day should be X-rayed.

Tell their doctor about the fall even if they seem fine. A fall can be a sign of something else, such as an infection, low blood pressure, low sodium, a side effect of a medicine or a heart rhythm problem.

Find out what happened: where they were, what they were doing and what time it was. Falls at night on the way to the bathroom, after standing up quickly or on wet floors each point to different fixes.

Agree in advance who your parent can call: a neighbour, a relative nearby or the building watchman. Save these numbers in their phone, and write them on paper near the phone as well.

Many families set up a call button, a smartwatch with fall detection, or simply make sure their parent keeps a phone on them when alone. None of these prevent falls, but they shorten the time a person lies on the floor waiting for help.

After a fall, ask for a proper fall-risk check. A physiotherapist can do this by video, with someone at home holding the phone, looking at balance, leg strength, walking, footwear and hazards in the home.

One fall makes another more likely. Fear of falling often makes people move less, which weakens them further and raises the risk again. Breaking that cycle is the main goal.

The measures with the best evidence are regular balance and strength exercise, a medicine review with their doctor (especially sleeping tablets, blood pressure medicines and some medicines for mood), an eyesight check, and fixing hazards at home. In research studies, exercise programmes for older adults reduce the rate of falls by roughly a quarter.