‘Catastrophic’: Campaigners blast council over cuts to falls prevention service

Service boss wants an ‘urgent review’ into the cuts. Photograph: Ian Taylor

Hackney Council is set to withdraw funding for a service that helps elderly people avoid falls – in a move residents and health workers have called “catastrophic”.

Staying Steady, a programme provided by MRS Independent Living, will no longer receive money from the Town Hall as of March next year.

Cllr Chris Kennedy, the council’s health and adult social care chief, said the decision came down to “unprecedented financial pressures on local government and NHS budgets”.

“The programme we have decided to stop funding is a six-month, group-based exercise programme, for those aged 55 and over, delivered in the community for those at risk of falling, or those that have had a recent fall,” he added.

Hackney Council has warned of reduced investment in recent months, after it emerged that it is facing a predicted budget overspend of nearly £37million for 2024/25.

Residents and health workers claim that scrapping Staying Steady will lead to more injuries and hospital admissions.

MRS director Natalie Pink called for an “urgent review” into the decision, which would mark a “huge loss for older residents”.

In a letter to Hackney mayor Caroline Woodley, she said: “Without Staying Steady there will be a wide gap between the end of hospital-based rehabilitative provision […] and generic community exercise provision.

“This gap will be unbridgeable for many older people. Some may find alternatives but most will not, leaving them both physically inactive and socially isolated.”

Pink’s letter was supported by Cynthia White, who chairs City and Hackney Older People’s Reference Group, and Larissa Howells from Age UK East London.

It refers to data from the Department of Health and Social Care, which shows City and Hackney had a higher rate of emergency hospital admissions due to falls for over-65s in recent years, before a significant drop since 2019.

While acknowledging the sharp decline happened during the Covid pandemic, they argue that the rate has remained “roughly equivalent” with the England average since then.

If the service is decomissioned, “we are sure to see this trend reverse”, Pink said.

Campaigners also stressed that scrapping the service would be counterproductive for public healthcare.

Marion Macalpine, on behalf of the pressure group Hackney Keep Our NHS Public (KONP), wrote to the North East London Integrated Care Board (ICB) to say the move was “disastrous and very shortsighted”.

“As we know, the recent Darzi Review says that investment in prevention services is vital to reducing pressure on acute beds.

“This will cause an increase in A&E admissions, and will put pressure on many other aspects of health and social care at a cost far higher than the funding planned to be cut.”

A review carried out by Lord Darzi this year concluded that systemic issues in the NHS are bound to continue if the service’s leaders fail to channel more resources into more preventative care.

The ICB is responsible for delivering health and care services to two million Londoners, including Hackney residents.

In 2020, Hackney Council published its ‘Ageing Well’ strategy, which stated that falls were the “largest cause” of emergency hospital admissions for older people.

Malcolm Alexander, chair of the Healthwatch and Public Involvement Association (HAIPA), pressed the Town Hall to formally consult with local people before going ahead with the “catastrophic” cut.

“The current service is excellent and has prevented many people from ending up in casualty, followed by long term admission to acute and elderly care wards,” he said.

“If you choose not to [consult], can you please send us a copy of the legal advice which you relied upon when you decided that you did not have a duty to formally consult the public on your plans.”

Alexander shared a quote from two unnamed geriatric consultants, who said: “If MRS were to shut, an alternative service would need to be commissioned and staffed to look after these patients.

“For that reason alone, this is, we believe, a short-sighted move despite the financial pressures which are fully understandable.”

In a bid to reassure residents, Cllr Kennedy said a “comprehensive, clinical falls prevention service funded by the NHS will continue to provide the support that our residents at higher risk need”.

“We are working with NHS colleagues to review and redesign our shared approach to falls prevention, which will involve engagement with service users and residents.

“This approach aims to delay and reduce the risk of a first fall among the wider population of older people across the City and Hackney.

“It also supports many older people to maintain activity following participation in a clinical falls prevention programme.”

A council spokesperson also raised the health benefits of other physical activity programmes available to residents, such as New Age Games, but the MRS director brushed off the argument.

“Only 13 per cent of our current users have taken advantage of [the] offering.

“Despite being available for all over-50s, New Age Games tends to attract older people who are much more mobile, confident and independent.

“This cannot be seen as a replacement.”