Denis Campbell's article (GPs in England too 'overloaded' to help older people at risk of falling, say MPs, 3 June) draws welcome attention to a severe but often overlooked health crisis. Research by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) shows that falls are the leading cause of accidental death in the UK, killing over 11,000 people a year, more than 9,000 of whom are aged 75 and over. And this crisis is getting worse, with a 12% increase in the rate of deaths over a single year.

丹尼斯·坎贝尔的文章（《英国全科医生过于“超负荷”无法帮助有跌倒风险的老年人》，议员们表示，6月3日）引起了对一个严重但往往被忽视的健康危机的关注，这是值得欢迎的。 英国皇家事故预防协会的研究表明，跌倒是英国意外死亡的主要原因，每年导致超过11000人死亡，其中超过9000人年龄在75岁及以上。 而且这场危机正在恶化，单一年份内的死亡率就上升了12%。

Falls are preventable, and should not be regarded as just an inevitable part of ageing. The causes are varied and complex, so intervention must take into account a person's living environment and access to networks of support as well as their physical and mental health. Such a detailed multifactorial assessment requires not just specialist expertise but far more time than is available within a short GP appointment. RoSPA is calling for equitable access to falls and fracture liaison services, removing the variation in treatment available depending on postcodes. Without such targeted support there is a real risk that fatal falls will continue to increase, taking the lives of vulnerable people in tragic accidents that could be prevented.

跌倒是可以预防的，不应仅仅被视为老龄化过程中不可避免的一部分。 其原因多种多样且复杂，因此干预必须考虑到一个人的生活环境、可获得的支持网络，以及他们的身体和心理健康。 如此详细的多因素评估不仅需要专业知识，还需要远远超出简短的全科医生门诊时间内所能获得的时间。 英国皇家事故预防协会呼吁提供公平获得跌倒和骨折联络服务的机会，消除因邮政编码不同而导致的治疗差异。 如果没有这种有针对性的支持，致命跌倒确实有继续增加的风险，让弱势群体在本来可以预防的悲剧性事故中丧生。

Jules Robinson

朱尔斯·罗宾逊

RoSPA

英国皇家事故预防协会

Comprehensive access to physiotherapy could prevent nearly 200,000 falls and save the NHS more than £275m each year. Yet rehabilitation services are being held back by workforce shortages, recruitment freezes and a loss of clinical space and resources. If the government is serious about preventing falls and reducing pressure on the NHS, it must invest in rehabilitation and the physiotherapy workforce. Prevention saves money – if services have the capacity to deliver it.

全面获得物理治疗服务每年可以预防近20万次跌倒，并为英国国家医疗服务体系节省超过2.75亿英镑。 然而，康复服务正因人力短缺、招聘冻结以及临床空间和资源的流失而受阻。 如果政府真的想要预防跌倒并减轻英国国家医疗服务体系的压力，它就必须投资于康复治疗和物理治疗师队伍。 预防能省钱——前提是服务有能力去实施预防。

Sara Hazzard

萨拉·哈扎德