New kit to keep you on your toes

HEALTH bosses have unveiled a new tool to help predict and prevent falls among the elderly population.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust’s STEADY ON! team is piloting the new Quantative Timed Up and Go (QTUG) balance testing technology to screen people for gait and any mobility impairment they may have.

They recently visited Accrington’s Poplar Social Club to showcase the system.

Wearing sensor pads below both knees, walking just a few steps can determine the fall risk.

STEADY ON! practitioner Cathy Bolton said: “People who fall often develop a condition known as ‘fear of falling’, which can result in a reduction in the normal levels of physical activity.”

Organisers say they will return to the Poplar Club in the near future at a date to be announced.