April Falls Month is a National campaign to raise falls awareness

The Rotary Clubs of Lismore West, Ballina on Richmond, and the Satellite Club of Ballina Lifestyle, in conjunction with NSW Health and International experts, will host a community information stand on Falls Prevention.

The event will be at Bunnings Lismore and

Ballina from 10 am until 4pm on Friday April 12th, Saturday April 13th and Sunday April 14th 2024.

Falls by older Australians, is a little known daily National tragedy.

Nine out of Ten hip replacements are due to a fall.

Falls are the biggest reason for premature admission to Hospitals and Aged Care facilities.

In NSW alone, falls result in over 40,000 hospitalisations each year and cost in excess of $750 million.

There are also many multiple effects from falls, including increased demand for Ambulance Services, loss of independence and impact on families.

“Falls are unnecessary, and often preventable,” said Rotarian Bob Barnes of the Rotary Club of Lismore West, the founder of the Falls committee and spearhead of the information campaign.

“We all know someone who has had a fall, and it can be devastating for them, with a domino effect on their family and friends, so we want to get a message out to the community that they can do something about preventing falls”.

Members of the community are invited to come along to the information stand and learn from Health professionals, on how they can help to prevent falls for themselves, family, and neighbours.

The stand will contain a variety of products that assist in the prevention of falls.

April Falls Day is a project of the Rotary Club of Lismore West as part of a broad initiative to reduce falls in Australia.