Create safe environment to prevent geriatric trauma, say doctors

To mark World Trauma Day, Apollo Hospitals experts highlighted the need for creating a safe environment for the elderly, as falls are the most common cause of injury. Minor injuries can be life-threatening. To reduce deaths, pre-hospital care and proper transport to a trauma centre are essential. Public must call for a trauma ambulance and provide early, appropriate treatment. Apollo Hospitals' emergency care team and ambulance service can help.

Like childproofing of homes, a safe environment has to be created for the elderly considering that falls is the commonest cause of injury in the geriatric population and even minor injuries could be life threatening for them, say doctors.

Observing World Trauma Day on Tuesday, doctors of Apollo Hospitals came together to highlight the concerns in trauma care, the need to create awareness on trauma response and life-saving procedures. Speaking on geriatric trauma, Babu Abraham, senior consultant, Multi-Disciplinary Critical Care Unit, noted that trauma was the fifth-leading cause of death in the elderly. The elderly’s share in the population is increasing and they are vulnerable to injuries, he said, adding: “The commonest cause of injury in the elderly is falls. The risk of falling is higher as we grow older,” he said.

He noted that 50% of elderly become immobile and dependent [on others] following fractures of the hip or thigh bone. “We need to treat the elderly like how we treat the paediatric age group. We make our home child-safe. In the same way, we need to make the environment safe for the elderly. There should be no loose rugs and no water on the floor. Provisions that can support them must be made in toilets and bathrooms,” he added.

He further said that a trivial trauma may lead to complex issues in the elderly owing to senescence of organ systems, frailty, pre-existing diseases and incorrect triage. Minor injuries should not be ignored.

Senthil Kumar, senior consultant, Multi-Disciplinary Critical Care Unit, raised the need to create awareness on frequent occurrence of accidents, including in Chennai. “Good pre-hospital care can reduce 20% to 25% of the deaths,” he said, adding that the public had a role to play in it.

“Trauma is one of the leading causes of death in India,” he said, adding that there were five lakh accidents in India in a year and 1.5 lakh deaths. “We are losing one person every three minutes. There are more than 400 deaths due to road accidents in a day.”