First Aid for Falls

Slips, trips and falls on the same level are the single most common cause of workplace injury in Great Britain, accounting for 30% of the 59,219 non-fatal injuries to employees reported to the HSE under RIDDOR in 2024/25, with a further 8% caused by falls from a height. If you are going to meet your health and safety responsibilities, it is important that you have staff who are trained in first aid for falls.

There are some simple measures that you can take to prevent falls in the workplace, like removing obstructions from walkways, keeping the workplace clean and tidy, and improving the design of your office to ensure that high traffic areas are safe. However, the risk of falls is always present and you need to be prepared to deal with it.

Older people especially are at risk of falls both at home and in the workplace for a number of reasons. Reduced mobility is common in older people, and this may mean that they are unsteady on their feet and more likely to fall. They may also have reduced eyesight, which makes it harder for them to notice and avoid obstructions. Elderly people may also suffer from cognitive issues that cause confusion and increase the risk of falls.

It is vital that employers are equipped to deal with falls, but it may also be important for carers that are dealing with elderly people as well.

Last reviewed: September 2026 — checked against Resuscitation Council UK Guidelines 2025.

First Aid For Falls

As soon as somebody suffers a fall, it is important that you approach them, being careful of any obstructions and environmental dangers to you or the fall victim. You should not try to move them immediately, you should first get down on the floor so you are at their level and assess the situation. Work through these steps in order:

• Are they responsive? Gently shake their shoulders and ask loudly whether they are all right.
• If they do not respond, call 999 straight away – before you check their breathing. Under Resuscitation Council UK Guidelines 2025 the ambulance call is made for any unresponsive person, and rescuers no longer have to confirm that the breathing is abnormal first. Ask a bystander to make the call and to fetch the defibrillator; if you are on your own, put your phone on speaker so both hands stay free.
• Then open the airway by tilting the head back and lifting the chin, and take no more than 10 seconds to check for normal breathing. Do not check for a pulse – lay rescuers are no longer taught to, because it wastes time and is unreliable.

If they are breathing normally but are not responsive, you should look carefully at how they have fallen and see if there are any immediate injuries that you can see. Then, move them into the recovery position to keep their airways clear, making sure that you take their injuries into account and avoid causing them more pain. Keep watching their breathing until the ambulance arrives.

If they are not breathing normally – and occasional gasps do not count as normal breathing – start CPR right away: 30 chest compressions in the centre of the chest, 5-6 cm deep at a rate of 100-120 per minute, followed by 2 rescue breaths. If you have not been trained to give rescue breaths, or you are unwilling to give them, give continuous chest compressions instead – hands-only CPR. The 999 call handler will keep you on pace.

Send someone for the defibrillator if there is one on site and use it as soon as it arrives – anyone can use an AED and no training is needed. If your organisation has an emergency policy in place, set this in motion now. You can also watch a CPR demonstration video.

Dealing With Responsive Patients

The first aid for falls procedure sets out clear steps for dealing with responsive patients. Firstly, you need to talk to them and see if there is any obvious medical reason for the fall, such as a heart attack or stroke. If they appear confused, try not to ask too many questions as this may increase their stress levels.

Next, examine them more closely for any signs of injury such as bruising or bleeding, and ask them if they feel pain anywhere. If you are concerned that they have injured their neck or spine, do not attempt to move them and call an ambulance right away.

If you see any signs of bleeding, find a clean pad and apply pressure to stop the flow of blood while you wait for more medical assistance. In some cases, the patient may show signs of clinical shock. In this case, you should lie them back down and raise their legs while you wait for medical assistance.

When To Call 999 After A Fall

Call 999 without delay if any of the following apply:

• they are unresponsive, or their level of response is falling;
• they are not breathing normally;
• you suspect an injury to the head, neck or spine;
• there is bleeding you cannot control, or an obvious deformity that suggests a broken bone;
• they show signs of shock, such as pale, cold, clammy skin and a fast, weak pulse;
• they fell from a height, or the fall was otherwise severe;
• they cannot get up, or you cannot move them safely.

Anyone who has banged their head and takes anticoagulant (blood-thinning) medication should be assessed by a medical professional urgently, even if they seem completely well, because bleeding inside the skull can develop slowly.

What Should You Do If There Is No Obvious Medical Cause For The Fall?

If you have assessed the situation, you cannot find a clear medical cause for the fall and they do not appear to be injured, you can begin helping them up into a sitting position. Let them do as much of the work as they can, and never lift someone yourself if they are in pain, cannot help you, or you think they may be injured – wait for the ambulance instead. While moving them, watch closely for any signs of pain, discomfort or dizziness, and continue to reassure them throughout.

When they feel able, you should try to move them into a chair for added support and then examine them once again for injuries. People that are diabetic may not feel where their injuries are, so make sure to check them over very thoroughly.

Finally, you need to follow the right accident procedure for your organisation, which usually involves filling out an accident form, and monitor their progress over the next 24 hours to ensure that there are no other health issues as a result of the fall.

This is the basic first aid for falls procedure that you need to follow if somebody close to you has a fall. However, it is important that people that are administering first aid are professionally trained. There are strong reasons to invest in first aid training in the workplace. If you want to improve health and safety in your organisation, it is worth sending employees on a first aid for falls course so they know exactly how to respond if the situation arises.

Skills Training Group offer a range of first aid courses. If you’d like further information on these courses, call us on 0808 164 2780.

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