Falls are a sensitive and challenging area of health care

Abstract

Letter to the EditorsDear Editor,When 16 year old roofer, Joel Exner, was killed after falling from a roof, his employer was held responsible for failing to provide a safe workplace (Herald Sun 16/02/04). Construction workers stopped work to march on the NSW parliament demanding jail sentences for bosses who were guilty of breaches of safety (Sydney MorningHerald 22/10/03). The Labour Council of NSW pushed for the State Government to implement a criminal charge of industrial manslaughter which would carry a maximum fine of $5 million and up to 25 years in jail (Sydney Morning Herald 19/10/03).Imagine the legal ramifications if an up-and-coming Ian Thorpe or Pat Rafter was to be seriously hurt or disabled in a slip and fall accident in a change room. If it could be proven that falls prevention strategies had not been put in place (for example slip resistant floor surfaces) the potential payout would be in the multiple millions. Why is it then, that an elderly person can fall in hospital and die a week later as a direct result of injuries sustained in the fall, and the public is silent?