What to do when an elderly parent has a fall

Quick summary

Do not move them yet. Check whether they are hurt, whether they hit their head, and whether they can tell you what happened. Call 999 if they cannot get up, may have injured their head, back, neck or hip, or seem confused. If none of that applies, call 111. Then read on.

Do I move them or leave them where they are?

Leave them. The NHS advice is to take a couple of minutes to check for pain and injury before anyone tries to move (NHS, Falls, page reviewed March 2025).

Ask three things. Does anything hurt. Did they bang their head. Do they know what happened and where they are.

If they cannot answer, or the answer comes out muddled, treat it as a head injury until a clinician says otherwise.

Who do I call when an elderly person falls?

The line between a 999 call and a 111 call is mostly about the head, the hips and whether they can get up.

Sources: NHS, Falls and NHS, Head injury and concussion, reviewed May 2025.

Blood thinners change the picture. Warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban and similar medicines alter what a bump to the head means, and the NHS lists them specifically as a reason to get advice from 111 after any head injury.

That is a long list to hold in your head at ten past six in the evening. If what you are looking at frightens you, ring 999 and let them decide.

How do I help someone up after a fall?

Only if they say nothing hurts and they feel able to try. Never lift them yourself, and never pull them up by an arm or from under the armpits.

Put a sturdy chair beside them, one that will not slide or tip. Then let them do the moving while you steady and encourage. The NHS sets out the order:

• Roll onto their side.
• Push up onto hands and knees.
• Crawl to the chair if it is not already within reach.
• Both hands on the seat, strongest foot flat on the floor.
• Push up slowly, turn, and sit down.
• Rest properly before standing again.

That last step is the one most people skip. Standing straight up after several minutes on the floor can often lead to a second fall. 

What if I cannot get them up?

Stop trying and ring for help. Repeated attempts exhaust both of you and risk a new injury.

While you wait, keep them warm with a coat, a duvet, anything to hand, and put something soft under the head. Encourage small movements and a change of position roughly every half hour, which helps protect the skin.

Time on the floor does damage of its own, separately from the fall. In a Cambridge study that followed people aged over 90 for a year, 82 per cent of falls happened when the person was alone, four in five could not get up after at least one fall, and 30 per cent had lain on the floor for an hour or more. Long periods on the floor were strongly associated with serious injury, admission to hospital and later moves into long term care (Fleming and Brayne, BMJ, 2008).

Which hospital will they go to?

In Cheshire East, we cross three counties and four hospital catchments.

Macclesfield, Bollington, Prestbury, Sutton, Wilmslow, Handforth, Alderley Edge and Knutsford almost always route to Macclesfield District General. Alsager and the south of the county go to Leighton Hospital in Crewe. Whaley Bridge, Chapel-en-le-Frith and the northern edge of the High Peak often route to Stepping Hill in Stockport. Kidsgrove and Biddulph generally go to Royal Stoke.

Cavendish Hospital in Buxton and Leek Moorlands Hospital provide community services rather than emergency care, so an ambulance will take someone past them.

What should I watch for over the next 48 hours?

Adrenaline hides a great deal. Pain very often gets worse the following morning rather than better, and that on its own is not a reason to panic.

What does need a second call: a headache that keeps building, repeated vomiting, drowsiness at a time they would normally be wide awake, new confusion, weakness down one side, or hip, groin or thigh pain that worsens instead of settling. Someone who cannot put weight through a leg needs assessing that day.

The NHS notes that symptoms after a head injury can persist for up to two weeks, and that anything lasting longer than that should go to a GP.

She was not hurt. Does anything need to happen now?

In short, yes. 

NICE updated its falls guidance in April 2025. It says anyone aged 65 and over should be asked whether they have fallen in the past year, and that people who have fallen should have their gait and balance assessed. A fuller falls assessment is recommended for anyone who was injured, lost consciousness, is living with frailty, or was unable to get up on their own (NICE NG249).

Ring the surgery, say the word “fall”, and ask for a falls assessment and a medication review. Both are common GP work.

There is a free route worth trying alongside it. In Cheshire East, One You Cheshire East runs free Stand Strong classes, a 26 week strength and balance programme, for residents aged 65 and over who have had two or more falls, have fallen in the past 12 months, or have difficulty with walking or balance. The number is 0300 123 5026 (Cheshire East Council). 

In Buxton and Whaley Bridge the equivalent is Live Stronger for Longer on 01773 766922, and for Leek, Biddulph and Kidsgrove it is Steady On Your Feet Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. 

Frequently asked questions

She has fallen but says she is fine. Do I still ring someone?

Ring 111 if there is any pain, dizziness, sickness or a bump to the head, and ring the GP within a few days either way. A fall with no injury is still the strongest signal that another one is coming, which is why NICE wants every fall asked about.

Can I pick my dad up myself?

No. Guide and steady him while he moves himself, using a chair for support. Lifting an adult from the floor risks hurting your back and his shoulders, and if he genuinely cannot get up with encouragement, that is the point to call for help.

He does not want me to tell the doctor. What now?

Ask what he is worried about, because it is usually one specific thing, often a care home or losing the car. Then tell him the assessment is about keeping him where he is. You can also ring the surgery yourself and share your concerns, even though they cannot discuss his records with you without consent.

Does one fall mean more are coming?

Not inevitably, but it raises the odds enough that NICE treats a fall in the past year as the trigger for assessment. Most of the causes are treatable. Exercise aimed at strength and balance reduces the rate of falls by around 23 per cent (Cochrane, 2019).

Will a pendant alarm stop this happening again?

No. An alarm does nothing to prevent a fall. What it does is shorten the time spent on the floor afterwards, and given what the evidence says about long periods on the floor, that is worth having on its own terms.

About Visiting Angels Cheshire East

Visiting Angels Cheshire East provides care at home across Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Knutsford, Congleton, Alsager and the surrounding villages, along with Buxton, Whaley Bridge and the Staffordshire Moorlands towns.

• You choose your caregiver. You meet them before care starts, and if it is not right you say so and we send someone else.
• No visit is ever shorter than an hour. There is no such thing as a fifteen minute call here.
• You see the same faces. Our carer turnover is 12 per cent, against a sector figure of 23.7 per cent (Skills for Care, 2025).
• Carers trained in dementia, Parkinson’s, stroke recovery and complex care.
• Live-in care available, up to full time, where someone should not be on their own overnight.

Jude’s mother Joyce is 100 and lives by herself:

“Joyce lives by herself and we needed a care provider that could give us the same carer most visits. Visiting Angels have been able to accommodate this, which is very helpful. They know her routine and have built up a rapport with my Mum. Understanding the details of her routine is an important part of her care and wellbeing. I trust them with keys, security and being with Mum to, cook, sit and talk and give tablets etc etc.. We communicate regularly and they are always there on the phone if issues occur. They are very friendly, understanding and flexible if changes occur. I would recommend their services.”

Jude Burton, Google review

Not sure what you need yet? Start with a free assessment

Our free home care assessment is a visit at a time that suits you, with no obligation afterwards. In it we will:

• Work out what is actually difficult, and which times of day, which is usually what a visit should be built around.
• Talk through a realistic package, and what it would cost.
• Look at the money with you, and point you towards the funding, benefits and grants you may be entitled to, including the ones most families are never told about.
• Tell you honestly if you do not need us yet, or if someone else is a better fit.

If you are worried about someone falling, call us on 01625 720157 and we will talk it through. You can also WhatsApp us or send an enquiry, or read more about the areas we cover.

Authored by Dr Haroon Ahmad, Managing Director, Visiting Angels Cheshire East.

Published 6 September 2026. Last updated 6 September 2026.

This article is general information, not medical advice, and no substitute for a professional who knows the person. The author is a director of the company and is not acting in a clinical capacity, and Visiting Angels Cheshire East provides personal care at home rather than medical or nursing care. Speak to a GP, a pharmacist or NHS 111 about your own situation, and call 999 in an emergency. Information correct at the date of publication. To the fullest extent permitted by law, GB Care at Home Ltd accepts no liability for any loss or injury arising from reliance on it.