Falling out of bed injures 20,000 people every year

New figures released by the UK’s National Health Service Information System show that falls accounted for 460,000 hospital admissions last year.

Out of those admissions, 20,000 were injuries caused after falling out of bed and 12,000 injuries were due to falling off a chair.

The figures relate to March 2010 to February 2011 and show an increase of fall related hospital admissions by more than 18,000 on the previous year.

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Falling from trees saw the need for 1,200 hospital treatments while falling from cliffs accounted 170 hospital visits.

The people who were most likely to experience a fall were women over 80 according to the study and those in the South East of the country were also particularly prone to falling over.

The chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, Tim Straughan, said in an interview: “Our figures show a rise in the number of hospital admissions for falls; from those who fall out of bed to people taking a tumble out of a tree.”

“Whilst falls are common and often minor, the report highlights the number of hospital admissions due to injuries from falls particularly among women over 80, who represent nearly a third of all such admissions,” he added.

The report also found that in general, hospital admissions were up by 700,000 for the year 2010/2011; from 15.5 million to 16.2 million.