What to Do After an Elderly Parent Has a Fall: A Practical Guide for Families

The phone rings and it is Mum, or a neighbour, or the community alarm centre. Dad has had a fall. In that moment, everything you have read about preventing falls feels very far away, and all you want to know is what to do next.

We have written before about how balance exercises can reduce fall risk and how a clean, clutter free home keeps older people safer. Prevention matters, but it cannot remove every risk. Falls still happen, and the hours and weeks that follow often shape how well a person recovers.

At Bentleys Homecare, this is very often the point at which families across Dundee first get in touch with us. This guide walks you through what to do straight away, what to watch for over the next few days, and how to help your parent regain their confidence and independence at home.

The First Few Minutes: Stay Calm and Do Not Rush

Your instinct will be to get your parent up off the floor as quickly as possible. Resist it. Lifting someone too soon can turn a minor fall into a serious injury, for them and for you.

Instead, take a breath and work through these steps:

1. Reassure them. A fall is frightening. Speak calmly, tell them help is here and that there is no hurry.
2. Ask how they feel. Where does it hurt? Did they hit their head? Do they feel dizzy, sick or confused?
3. Look for obvious injuries. Check for bleeding, swelling, or a limb sitting at an unusual angle.
4. Notice how they are speaking. Slurred words, confusion or drowsiness can point to a head injury or a stroke.
5. Ask what happened. Did they trip, feel faint, or simply find themselves on the floor? The answer matters later.

If you are not in the house, ask whoever is with them to do the same, or speak to your parent on the phone and keep them talking while help is arranged.

Knowing Who to Call

Not every fall needs an ambulance, but some do. If you are unsure, it is always better to ask for advice than to wait and hope. Once your parent is safe and the medical side is in hand, the next question is usually how they will manage at home, and that is where we come in.

Not every fall needs an ambulance, but some do. If you are unsure, it is always better to ask for advice than to wait and hope. Once your parent is safe and the medical side is in hand, the next question is usually how they will manage at home, and that is where we come in.

• Call for an ambulance straight away if they cannot get up, are in severe pain, are bleeding heavily, have hit their head and seem confused or drowsy, or have lost consciousness.
• Call for an ambulance and do not move them if they cannot put weight on a leg, or one leg looks shorter or turned outwards, as this can be a sign of a hip fracture.
• Seek urgent medical advice if they hit their head and take blood thinning medication, even if they seem fine.
• Phone NHS 24 for advice if they are sore, shaken or unwell but able to move, and you are worried.
• Book a GP appointment in the next few days if they are unhurt and recover quickly.
• Speak to Bentleys Homecare if they are safe but you are worried about how they will cope at home while they recover.

If your parent wears a personal or community alarm, pressing it will usually connect them to a responder who can talk them through what to do and call for help.

Helping Them Up Safely

Only help your parent up if they are not hurt, feel ready and want to try. Your role is to guide and steady, never to lift. NHS advice is clear that family members should not try to lift someone off the floor themselves.

If they feel able, encourage them to get up in stages:

1. Roll gently onto their side.
2. Move onto their hands and knees.
3. Shuffle or crawl to a sturdy chair or the edge of a bed. Bring it closer if you can.
4. Place both hands on the seat, then bring one foot forward so it is flat on the floor.
5. Push up slowly, turn and sit down.

Once seated, let them rest for a while before standing again. A cup of tea and a few quiet minutes do far more good than rushing back to normal.

If They Cannot Get Up

If your parent is hurt or simply cannot get up, call for an ambulance and make them as comfortable as possible where they are:

• Slip a cushion under their head.
• Cover them with a blanket or coat, as older people lose heat quickly on a cold floor.
• Encourage them to move their position slightly every so often, if it does not cause pain.
• Stay with them and keep talking until help arrives.

Lying on the floor for a long time, often called a long lie, carries real risks of its own, including chills, dehydration and pressure sores. This is why getting help quickly matters so much, and why we come back to alarms later in this guide.

The Next 48 Hours: What to Watch For

Some injuries do not show themselves straight away. Older people are often keen to say they are fine, and bruising or a small fracture can take time to become obvious. If at all possible, make sure someone checks in regularly over the next two days, ideally with an overnight stay or an early morning visit.

Seek medical advice promptly if you notice:

• Headache that gets worse, repeated vomiting, unusual drowsiness or new confusion
• Pain that is increasing rather than easing, particularly in the hip, groin, wrist or back
• New difficulty walking, standing or bearing weight
• Swelling or bruising that keeps spreading
• Changes in behaviour, such as becoming withdrawn, agitated or muddled

It is also worth keeping a short note of what happened: the time, where they fell, what they were doing and how they felt beforehand. This simple record will be genuinely useful when you speak to the GP.

Why Every Fall Should Be Reported, Even When Nobody Is Hurt

Many families let a fall pass without comment if their parent seems unharmed. Your parent may even ask you not to make a fuss. Yet a fall is often a sign that something else has changed, and one fall makes another more likely.

Common underlying causes include:

• An infection, such as a urinary tract infection, which can cause sudden confusion or weakness
• New or changed medication causing dizziness or low blood pressure
• Changes in eyesight
• Dehydration or not eating enough
• Weakening muscles after a period of illness or inactivity

A GP appointment gives the chance to look into these. The GP can review medication, arrange tests and, where appropriate, refer your parent to the NHS Tayside falls service for a fuller assessment of balance, strength and the home. An occupational therapist may also suggest equipment such as grab rails or a raised toilet seat.

This matters locally too. Dundee has historically recorded some of the highest rates of fall related hospital admissions in Scotland, so acting early really does make a difference.

The Fall You Cannot See: Fear and Lost Confidence

Even when the bruises fade, the effect on confidence can linger. Many older people become frightened of falling again. They move less, stop going out, and avoid the stairs or the bath. Some feel embarrassed and play the whole thing down.

The difficulty is that moving less weakens the muscles and balance that keep a person steady. Fear of falling can quietly increase the risk of the next fall.

There is a lot families can do to help:

• Talk about it openly. Let your parent say how they feel without being told they are overreacting.
• Keep them gently active. Short walks around the house, or seated exercises if standing feels too much for now.
• Rebuild routines step by step. A first trip back to the shops is easier with someone alongside.
• Keep them connected. Isolation often follows a fall. Regular visits, phone calls or a befriending service can make a real difference to mood and motivation.

Recovery is as much about confidence as it is about the body. This is the thinking behind our Physical, Social and Psychological Recovery Plan (PSPR), which looks at the whole person rather than the injury alone.

Practical Steps for the Weeks Ahead

Once the immediate worry has passed, a few sensible changes can make the next fall less likely and far less serious if it does happen.

• Arrange an alarm. A pendant or wrist alarm means help can be called even if your parent cannot reach a phone. In Dundee, a community alarm can be arranged through the council’s social work service, and private options are also available.
• Make a plan together. Agree who will be called and keep important numbers by the phone. A mobile kept in a pocket during the day can be invaluable.
• Look again at the home. Where did the fall happen, and why? Our guide to how a clean home reduces fall risk includes a room by room checklist.
• Rebuild strength gradually. Once the GP is happy, gentle balance exercises help restore steadiness.

If the fall led to a hospital stay, the first days home can feel daunting. Our article on recovering at home after hospital explains what helps most during that transition.

Signs Your Parent May Need More Support

A fall is often the moment families realise that things have been harder for their parent than anyone knew. It may be time to consider extra help if your parent:

• Has fallen more than once, or has had several near misses
• Is struggling with washing, dressing or getting to the toilet
• Is no longer keeping up with meals, shopping or housework
• Seems anxious about being alone, particularly at night

Our checklist of signs your elderly parent needs home care covers this in more detail. If you are worried about how to raise the subject, we have also written about how to suggest home care to a parent without upsetting them.

How Bentleys Homecare Supports Families After a Fall

The days after a fall are when families most need someone practical and calm on their side. At Bentleys Homecare, we work with a small, trusted team so your parent sees familiar faces, and our support can be arranged around what they need right now.

• Rehabilitation at home. Our one to one Exercise, Rehab and Nutrition at home service, led by Valerie, one of our owners, is designed to restore strength, balance and function after a fall or a broken hip.
• Personal care. Help with washing, dressing and getting to the bathroom safely while confidence returns, through our personal care service.
• Everyday practical help. Our concierge service can take care of shopping, prescriptions and getting to appointments, so your parent is not tempted to struggle.
• A safer home. Our general cleaning service keeps floors clear and dry and walkways open.
• Companionship. Regular visits or telephone befriending help ease the loneliness and anxiety that so often follow a fall.

Support can be short term while your parent recovers, or ongoing if they need it. If you are thinking about budgets, our guide to home care costs in Dundee sets out what to expect.

We support families in Dundee, Broughty Ferry, Monifieth, Carnoustie, Invergowrie and the surrounding areas. If your parent has recently had a fall and you are unsure what to do next, call us on 01382 722 037 or get in touch with our team. We will listen, talk you through the options, and help you put the right support in place.