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CareMapIreland

Situation

When someone is falling repeatedly or becoming unsteady

What to do in Ireland after repeated falls or growing unsteadiness: who to contact, what an assessment looks at, and what often helps at home.

Last reviewed: 11 September 2026Verified

Falls are rarely just bad luck. They are usually the visible sign of several things at once: strength and balance, eyesight, footwear, medication, pain, lighting, floor surfaces and confidence.

We cannot say why someone is falling — that is a clinical question for their GP. What we can do is set out who to contact and the practical routes to assessment, therapy and changes at home.

First steps

  1. Contact their GP: repeated falls should be reviewed clinically, including a medication review
  2. Write down each fall — date, time of day, where in the home, what they were doing
  3. Ask the Public Health Nurse about occupational therapy or physiotherapy in the community
  4. Look at the home: grab rails, the bathroom, stairs, lighting, loose rugs and footwear
  5. Ask about a personal alarm or a way to call for help if they fall when alone

Who can help, and what each of them does

Ask for people by role. It is the quickest way past a general phone number.

Their GP
Repeated falls are a clinical matter, so the GP is the right starting point. A GP can review medication and check for things that may be contributing, and refer on where they judge it appropriate.
The Public Health Nurse
Reachable through the GP practice for the person's address. Can advise on community services and on referral routes to physiotherapy or occupational therapy locally.
An occupational therapist or physiotherapist
The professionals who look at balance, strength, walking aids, and how the home itself is contributing. They may also be involved in a Home Support assessment of need.
The local authority housing grants section
Where an application for a housing adaptation grant is made, if the bathroom, stairs or access need changing. Grants follow the property address, not the person's health service.

What to have ready

None of this is a formal requirement we can promise on anyone's behalf — it is simply what tends to be asked for, and having it written down saves repeating yourself.

  • A written record of each fall: date, time of day, where in the home, what they were doing, whether they could get up, and whether they were hurt
  • A current medication list, including anything recently started or changed
  • When eyesight and hearing were last checked
  • What footwear they actually wear indoors — slippers and socks come up repeatedly
  • A quick walk-through of the home noting stairs, rugs, lighting, the bathroom, and where the phone is at night
  • Whether they can call for help if they fall when alone

Questions worth asking

Ask their GP

  • Could any of their medication be contributing to falls or dizziness, and can we have a medication review?
  • Should their blood pressure be checked sitting and standing?
  • Is a referral to physiotherapy, occupational therapy or a falls service appropriate, and how long does that usually take here?
  • Is there anything about the pattern of these falls that concerns you clinically?

Ask the Public Health Nurse or therapist

  • What balance and strength work would you recommend, and is there a local class or programme?
  • Is a walking aid appropriate, and can it be fitted properly rather than borrowed?
  • What would you change in the house first if you had to pick one thing?
  • Would grab rails, a shower seat or a stair rail need an assessment before a grant application?

Ask the local authority about a grant

  • Which grant fits our situation, and what does the application need?
  • Does the application need an occupational therapist's report?
  • What is the current timescale, and can work start before approval?

What can happen next

Possible paths, not predictions. Decisions about assessment, hours and timing are made by the HSE locally, and we never claim to know the outcome in advance.

  • A cause is identified and treatedFalls often have several contributing causes at once, and some are treatable — medication effects, blood pressure changes, pain, poor vision, foot problems. This is why the clinical review comes before anything else.
  • Therapy or a falls programme is offeredStrength and balance work has a real effect on confidence as well as steadiness. What is available and how quickly varies by area, so ask locally rather than assuming.
  • The home is changedGrab rails, better lighting, removing loose rugs, a downstairs toilet or a level-access shower can matter more than extra hours of help. Larger changes may involve a housing adaptation grant through the local authority.
  • Help at home is put in placeIf washing, dressing or mobility now need another person, that is a Home Support application to the local HSE office. It runs separately from the clinical review, so both can be started at once.
  • Confidence becomes the issueSome families find the person becomes more hesitant to move about after a fall. If that is happening, say so plainly to the GP or therapist rather than leaving it out of the conversation, because it affects what help is useful.

What to do while you wait

  • Keep the falls record going, and bring it to every appointment
  • Fix the cheap things now: lighting on the landing and stairs, loose rugs, trailing flexes, proper indoor shoes
  • Make sure they can call for help — a phone within reach at night, or a personal alarm
  • Keep the route between bed and bathroom clear and easy to light at night
  • If they have fallen and cannot get up, or hit their head, treat it as urgent rather than waiting for the next appointment
  • If you are covering the gaps yourself, look at carer supports before you are worn out

Support that often applies here

Relevant does not mean approved. Each of these has its own assessment or decision process, run by the HSE, a local authority or the Department of Social Protection.

Guides that help you prepare

Where the facts on this page come from

How the system works is taken from the official pages below. Everything else here is practical experience of dealing with that system, not official guidance — and none of it is clinical or legal advice.