Dr Alasdair MacRae is a Consultant Geriatrician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley. He is the Chair of the BGS Falls and Bone Health SIG Committee.
On recent days off, my wife claims to have been “productive” by tidying the garage. This is really just code for hiding things in completely random places.
However, this latest garage frenzy had a silver lining. Despite not coming across my many missing compact discs, she did unearth some of my old DJ equipment (the things you didn’t know about me, huh?) and a collection of records.
Among the stash was Fatboy Slim’s legendary 1999 track. Built around four (or three, with one repeated) simple, unforgettable words, Right Here, Right Now reached No. 2 in the UK charts and became an absolute anthem. It was the ultimate musical call to action: a soundtrack for staying present, focused and ready to move.
During Falls Awareness Week (21–25 September), that iconic song title has been remixed for healthcare. This year’s theme focuses on precision, teamwork and timing: Right Care, Right Place, Right Time.
In falls prevention and bone health, timing and location are everything. We cannot wait for a crisis to happen later; the work must start right here, right now across our hospitals, wards, care homes and community spaces.
Delivering the right care means deploying an ultimate, everyday superhero squad. This isn’t just about the heavy-hitting specialists in scrubs; our superhero alliance includes dedicated care home staff, home carers, friends and family members.
After all, you don’t need to be a brain surgeon to spot a rug as a fall hazard. But you do need someone to sweep in and remove it before a loved one trips. Every single person brings a unique strength to the mission. When the right person steps in at the right moment, we don’t just prevent a fall. We protect a life.
My wife says that, if I were a superhero, I would be Mr Muscle (see the 1980s advert!). As anyone who remembers those classic TV clips knows, the joke was that they gave the toughest jobs to someone with absolutely no physical muscle at all.
But that is exactly the point for Falls Awareness Week: you don’t need a Hollywood blockbuster budget, a high-tech lab or superhuman strength to be a hero on your ward, in your care home or at home with your loved ones. In the words of Marvel’s Ant-Man, sometimes going small is how you win big.
No matter how big or small your initiative, it all counts.
Your clinical mission blueprint
If you want to activate your squad and take action on your home turf, here is your mission blueprint for the week:
- On the wards: Assemble your team for a swift 10-minute huddle to check lying and standing blood pressure documentation.
- In care homes: Channel your inner detective. Audit communal areas to ensure walking aids are within reach, glasses are clean and residents are wearing appropriate footwear.
- Within teams: Print out fresh falls prevention guides or host a quick “safe footwear” check-in session for patients. Check that walking aids are functioning well, including taking a peek at the ferrules at the bottom of sticks and crutches.
- At home – friends and family: Spend five minutes chatting with a loved one about hydration, checking their slipper grip or making sure their pathways are clear. And make sure loved ones are doing the tailored strength and balance exercises prescribed by their physiotherapist.
Welcoming our newest heroes
Every great superhero franchise needs an exciting new phase, and we are thrilled to introduce the two new trainee representatives joining the BGS Falls and Bone Health Special Interest Group (SIG) committee: Dr Tamara Hossn and Dr Elizabeth Seccombe.
Think of them as the fresh generation of heroes stepping up to the frontline. Trainees bring vital perspective, new energy and day-to-day clinical insight to our work.
Welcome to the team!
What’s next?
Every great gig leaves the crowd wanting an encore. While we cannot drop the full line-up just yet, we are excited to tease that we hope to announce the date and venue for next year’s BGS Falls and Postural Stability Conference very soon.
Following the massive global insights shared at the recent World Falls Congress, our next dedicated conference will focus entirely on turning cutting-edge research into real-world action.
Keep your eyes glued to your emails for the official venue reveal and date drop!
The signal is in the sky, and the beat has dropped – now it’s your turn to act.
Falls prevention isn’t a job for a single hero; it takes the entire multidisciplinary collective, our care networks and our families working in perfect sync.
No matter your role, your setting or how much time you have, your contribution matters. Whether you run a single 10-minute huddle, remove a rug or launch a ward-wide campaign, you are delivering the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
Don’t wait for the next shift. Start planning your initiative right here, right now.
Let’s make this year’s week the most impactful one yet!
Now, where did she put my car?
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