HELP the Aged advises us that their research shows that 78,000 older people are afraid to leave their homes because they are afraid of falls, which may lead to hospital admission. For many of the people who do fall, there are fatal consequences.

National Falls Awareness Day will fall on June 23 this year. We are asked to start now to raise awareness about the risk of falling and to promote simple, practical ways of avoiding falls. Falls should not be accepted as an inevitable part of ageing.

For instance, we are asked to work on this with our local bus companies, for many people report that they have been thrown around buses by sudden acceleration, stops and changes of direction.

Drivers need to be trained to be more aware of the likelihood of accidents to older people if they are not seated when these manoeuvres take place. Recently, a pensioner broke her neck when travelling on a bus.

This is another reason why we are part of the Save Our Travel Tokens campaign in Eastleigh. We believe it is important to have a concession alternative to the free bus pass, such as travel tokens or taxi vouchers, so that people at risk of falling are assisted to travel safely by taxi, if that is their preferred mode of safe travel.

Diane Andrewes, Secretary, Eastleigh Southern Parishes Older People's Forum.