Falls prevention week: Supporting safety and independence at home

Every September, healthcare organisations, care teams, and local communities across the country come together to mark Falls Prevention Week. It is an important time to pause, reflect, and look at how we can help older adults stay safe, confident, and independent in their own homes.

At Cera, looking after the wellbeing of the people we support is at the heart of everything we do. Falling is one of the biggest challenges older adults face, but it is not an inevitable part of getting older. With the right support, small daily observations and smart technology, we can work together to prevent falls before they happen. In this blog post, we want to share why fall prevention is so important, what we are doing across Cera to keep people safe, and what this means for our wonderful carers, our service users, and their families.

When an older person falls, the physical injury (such as a painful bruise or a broken hip) is often only part of the problem. A fall can deeply affect someone’s confidence. Many people develop a fear of falling again, which can cause them to limit their movements, stay in bed or in a chair, and slowly lose their independence. This loss of mobility can make everyday tasks harder and lead to feelings of loneliness or isolation.

On a broader scale, falls place a strain on our health system, costing the NHS and care services an estimated £4.4 billion each year. Because so many hospital admissions caused by falls could be avoided with early intervention, dedicated falls prevention is essential for keeping people well at home and reducing pressure on local hospitals.

What is Cera doing?

At Cera, we have developed a clear, technology enabled approach called our Predict & Prevent initiative. We started testing this approach in 10 of our branches back in 2023, expanded it to 20 branches in 2024, and rolled it out nationwide across all our branches in 2025.

Our approach works through three clear, connected steps:

• Observe: Every time a carer visits a service user, they log simple digital visit reports on the Cera App. This includes details about daily wellbeing, medication administration, care plans and regular routine checks.
• Predict: Our artificial intelligence technology reads these daily notes and looks for subtle patterns or changes in health. For example, if someone is sleeping less, skipping meals, or feeling a little unsteadier than usual, our system notices. The technology flags service users who may be at a higher risk of falling. In fact, our system identified that service users marked as high risk are up to 48 times more likely to fall than those at low risk.
• Prevent: Once a potential risk is flagged, the system automatically creates specific, practical tasks for the care team. This means carers and managers know exactly what to look out for and can take quick action - whether that involves encouraging fluid intake, arranging a room check, or involving a local nurse or physiotherapist.

In places like Sheffield, we have taken this even further with our Sheffield Test of Change pilot. By partnering directly with Sheffield City Council, local NHS hospitals, ambulance services, primary care practices, and local charities like Age UK, we created a joined up care pathway. This has meant that when a service user is flagged as at risk, they can be referred directly to the community health teams for specialist support in a median of just 15 days, compared to the standard 5 week waiting time.

Why does it matter?

This work matters because it makes a direct, proven difference to human lives.

When we evaluated the national rollout of our Predict & Prevent initiative across our branches, the results were clear. Within just three months, we saw a 20% reduction in falls. Preventing a fall means preventing a traumatic hospital visit, avoiding painful injuries, and saving a person from the fear that so often follows an accident. It gives families peace of mind, knowing that their loved ones are being looked after by both expert care teams and the latest technology. On top of that, it helps local NHS services by keeping emergency beds free for acute illnesses.

What this initiative means for you is that your daily notes and observations are more powerful than ever before. Every time you log a detail in the app, no matter how small it might seem, our system uses that information to protect the person you care for.

You do not need to be a clinical expert or spend hours filling out complex paperwork. The app guides you with simple, clear tasks when someone needs extra attention. It gives you the confidence and backup to know that when you notice a small change in someone’s routine, the whole Cera network and local health services are right behind you to offer support.

What does falls prevention technology mean for our service users?

For our service users and their families, this means you can enjoy greater comfort, safety and reassurance at home.

Knowing that your care team is actively working to prevent falls means you can maintain your daily routines with confidence. Our aim is never to take away your freedom, but to give you the support and safe environment you need to remain independent. As one of our service users, Des, kindly shared: "It's life-changing and life-saving as well. Without it, I couldn't cope, really."

During our Sheffield partnership, 65% of the service users involved said they felt noticeably safer in their homes, giving our service an average score of 4.25 out of 5. For families, it offers invaluable reassurance that your loved one is receiving thoughtful, modern care that looks out for their future wellbeing every single day.

Our work shows that when social care providers and the NHS work closely together using modern digital tools, we can achieve all three of these goals at once. Our technology was even highlighted in the NHS 10-Year Health Plan for England as an example of predictive tools already preventing falls effectively in the community.

As we look ahead, we are excited to expand these integrated care partnerships to other areas, including Manchester and Surrey, and share our findings with the wider scientific and healthcare community.

Falls Prevention Week is a great reminder of what we can accomplish when we combine warm, human care with clever, supportive technology.

A fall does not have to be an inevitable part of growing older. By staying observant, working closely together, and taking proactive steps early, we can protect the health, dignity and independence of the people we care for.

We want to say a huge thank you to all of our care workers, office teams, health partners, and families for your dedication every day. Together, we are making home care safer, smarter and more supportive.