Baffie scheme launched in a bid to stop falls

The initiative is already up and running in other parts of the country

According to a report by Fife Council’s safer communities team, many falls that result in a hospital admission are caused by ill-fitting slippers.

So the team has introduced a pilot ‘Slipper Exchange Initiative’, which is being run in conjunction with fire officers.

So far, two events have been held locally alongside free electric blanket testing sessions, and 15 people have been given a new pair of slippers.

Grant Ward, head of area services, said: “Results of the evaluation of this pilot will be used to determine whether slipper exchange is an effective way of addressing falls in the home and, if so, whether this method is the best way to deliver such an initiative.”

In his report, Mr Ward also said that of the 254 north east Fife residents attending accident and emergency departmants in the Kingdom between October 2015 and March 2016, a total of 103 were aged 65 and over – an increase of over 30 from the corresponding period the previous year.